One Last Sacrifice
by Silent Archangel
Summary: Spartan C-077 thought his whole life was to be spent aboard a recon destroyer, his training going to waste. But he has no idea how wrong he is until he lands on an unknown planet with an unstable sun.
1. Chapter 1

**LOCATION: FAR RIM**

**2401 STANDARD MILITARY TIME**

**UNSC DESTROYER- TITAN OF LIGHT**

Captain Deckard rubbed his sore eyes as he watched over the bridge of his ship. For a moment, he caught himself nodding off into sleep. He cursed himself and sipped his coffee for the hundredth time which had long since grown cold. He sat backward and massaged his temples. The Light's AI Dallas sprung from the holopedestal beside the captain; its avatar was simply an ODST in full battle armor with numeric symbols and data streams flowing through his armor.

"Sir, do you realize that you have prolonged sleep for ten hours now?"

Deckard ignored the AI and took another drink of his coffee, he frowned, dismayed that the cup was now empty. Then he finally replied, "Dallas, look at these people," the captain gestured to the people working at the control terminals. "They haven't slept for nearly two days now. I refuse to rest easy when the rest of my crew is working their asses off. Besides, I'm not paid to sleep."

"I understand that sir, but if you do not give your brain the rest it needs, you will not be operating at peak efficiency. This could endanger the crew and the ship." The AI's tone became solemn, "Think about it." Then its avatar disappeared.

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Spartan C-077 paced the small room. His gaze wandered to and from his jet black armor, with its helmet's silver visor staring at him. Ever since the Spartan- IV project, Spartan production had been raised rapidly. One was assigned to every military ship the UNSC had to offer. Whether it be pure bad luck or fate that 077 was transferred to a random patrol destroyer, he didn't know. All he knew now was the dull grey walls of his room. His childhood training prepared him for just about any type of combat situation, but not boredom. To make things worse, this particular UNSC destroyer lacked a cryo-sleep chamber.

After another hour of pacing, 077 couldn't take it anymore, he put together his armor piece by piece until it formed a layer of Titanium over every part of his body except for his head. Finally, he slid the helmet on. There was a faint hiss as his suit pressurized and his Heads-Up Display flickered into view.

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Dallas operated the Light's planetary scanner as they passed world after world. For once in his short life, he was bored. He was about to scan another planet until something caught its interest.

"Captain, I have detected an anomaly."

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_Well, there's the first Chapter, I hope you enjoyed it._


	2. Chapter 2

**0000000**

Captain Deckard looked over the copy of Dallas' scan of the planet. Everything was normal, except for the lines and geometric shapes that represented walls and buildings. The captain frowned, "Are you sure this is accurate?"

Dallas appeared beside the captain, "I have double-checked my readings, the information is infallible."

"Are there any records of colonization on this planet?"

"None sir, the radiation given off by the sun would make this world uninhabitable, though I have picked up several life signatures."

Deckard's frown deepened, "Send 077 along with a few Sangheili to investigate. I want to know if people are living here and if so, why."

Dallas nodded and disappeared.

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Spartan C-077 grinned as he felt the familiar contours of his MA37 assault rifle in his hands. He jammed a magazine into the chamber and heard the '_click'_ as the bullet made its way into the firing chamber and the holographic ammo counter flashed the number 32.

The elites he was in charge of seemed anxious as they fidgeted with their plasma-based weapons and armor. But 077 was grateful he didn't have to pace his cramped room anymore. He slid his 10-inch knife into the sheath strapped to his boot and attached extra clips of ammo and grenades to his belt.

The Spartan was the last one into the Phantom dropship. He felt the sensation of being lifted into the air as the shuttle took off. A few moments later, they landed.

As the doors opened, the team was blasted with a heat so intense that the Spartan felt it through his armor. He raised his weapon and venture out into the unknown.

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Captain Deckard stared at the screen in front of him. It was linked to the Spartan's helmet camera. He saw the strange architecture and was astounded; he was expecting a small settlement, not an entire colony. The Spartan waved the elites into a stealth approach position and moved silently along the ruins.

Suddenly, Dallas spoke with great urgency, "Sir, we've encountered three unknown ships, they don't match any known signatures and its IFF is unrecognizable. Caution is advised."

The captain's head snapped up from the screen. "Can you establish a COMM link?"

"Done… wait."

"What is it?" the captain snapped.

Suddenly the Titan of Light rumbled and shook. Deckard was thrown out of his chair and a few technicians scrambled to get the ship back online.

"Dallas! What was that?" the captain yelled as the three cruisers continued to advance on their position.

When the AI reappeared, its avatar flickered weakly and its voice sounded strained, "Sir, an unknown entity has hacked into the internal servers. All of my firewalls have failed; they have taken control of the ship's databases."

"Dammit! Initiate the Cole Protocol! Wipe everything, we can't allow them to-"

"They're charging their weapons!" one of the technicians shouted over the chaos. The captain barely had enough time to look out a small window to see all three ships discharge their weapons simultaneously. The Light shook violently as a salvo of enemy fire slammed into its hull and the captain was knocked off his feet.

"Shields at 5 percent." Dallas reported grimly.

"Bring main weapons online!" Deckard bellowed. "FIRE!"

Four Archer missiles streaked from their silos and zoomed towards their designated targets and MAC rounds were discharged.

Two of the three ships exploded as their shields failed and MAC rounds ripped them in half. But the third ship closed in and launched another salvo of plasma.

"Shields have failed!" Dallas shouted.

It would only take one more attack to destroy the Light. Deckard looked up and saw the enemy ship's cannons pulsing brightly. He saw the distance between him and death diminish rapidly. As the final blow was struck, the Titan of Light went silent.

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On the ground the Spartan watched in horror as the destroyer crumbled into dust and debris. The Sangheili roared in despair as their crewmates ceased to exist.

It took sheer willpower for 077 to look away. He turned towards his team, "Mourn the dead later, now, we have a job to do. Let's get to it."

He spotted several alien shuttles descend from the enemy cruiser and shouldered his rifle and clutched it tighter.

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"Shepard, have you looked over the dossiers yet?" The turian asked his commander impatiently.

"Garrus, I'll take a look at them later. Right now, I'm still trying to rest off the job at Horizon." The man mumbled.

"No Shepard, look at them now. I think it'll be worth your while."

Painfully, Shepard rose from his bed, his back still aching from his clash with the Collectors. He scanned over the information and his gaze rested upon a single name.

"Tali."

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_Great, now comes the action. Hope you liked this one._


	3. Chapter 3

**LOCATION: UNKNOWN ALIEN COLONY**

**2404 STANDARD MILITARY TIME**

**UNSC INVESTIGATION TEAM**

The Spartan peeked over the corner to see more of those synthetic androids. He readied his assault rifle and motioned the elites into an ambush position above the robots who haven't noticed them. They had the element of surprise, for now.

Everything was still, but then suddenly, the entire battlefield erupted into gunfire. 77 was puzzled, he never gave the order to engage. He glanced at the Sangheili, they too, were confused, they hadn't given away their position yet. The synthetics were firing at something in the opposite direction.

77 rose from his cover and gave the signal to the elites. They activated their active camouflage and opened fire. The robots never stood a chance against them. They were ripped to pieces by the plasma fire. The last one tried to fall back, but the Spartan shot it twice in the leg. The synthetic doubled over and dropped to the ground.

"All clear!" he shouted. He approached the android which was attempting to crawl away. The Spartan seized it by the neck and lifted it into the air so its single glowing optic was eye level with him. He didn't notice its hand reaching for something attached to its thigh. When it grabbed the piece of metal, it expanded into what looked like a pistol and it pressed the barrel against 77's stomach.

By then it was already too late to crush it or grab his own pistol and the elites were too far away to help. Suddenly, the synthetic's head exploded into sparks and some sort of white paste. The Spartan's head snapped up in time to see the glint of a sniper rifle peeking from one of the windows of an abandoned building. Then another, then another, soon the team was surrounded with people with strange suits and reflective visors.

"Stand down!" a voice yelled. "I said stand down people!"

One of them approached 77, "I'm Kal'Reegar of the Migrant Fleet Marines. We saw your ship go down."

77 nodded, "Spartan C-077 of the UNSC. We were sent here to investigate these ruins."

"We've got a base set up over at the observatory. We'd better get there before Geth reinforcements arrive."

"Geth?"

"Those synthetic bastards we just fought, we can explain everything when we get to the observatory."

The Spartan made no comment as Kal led the way. One of 77's elites opened a private COMM channel with him, "Sir, are you sure we can trust them?"

"We have to. It's better to have allies than enemies."

"It's worse to have allies who betray you than enemies."

77 glanced at Kal who was unaware of their conversation, "Fine, we'll keep a close eye on them."

It took a while before they reached the base camp which was composed of a few worn out buildings which looked like a sudden gust of wind could blow them down. As they approached, they were met with strange looks from the others. 77 noticed that the buildings seemed empty. _'Why build a colony if you aren't going to live in it?'_

"Kal, are there people living in those houses?"

"Nah, we Quarians moved out of this planet when the sun went unstable, we're escorting a science group, or what's left of them, to figure out why."

77 raised an eyebrow, "What's left of them?"

"Most of the scientists were killed during the initial Geth attack. She's the only one left. Your team can stay in here." Reegar gestured to the cramped house that served as the barracks. 77 nodded his thanks and entered, to his surprise, the door slid out of his way before he could push it open.

There were many bunks, but some were full or too small to accommodate a Sangheili or Spartan. But the elites ignored this and took off their helmets to wipe off the sweat created by the intense heat.

'_Today is going to be a long one…' _77 thought to himself.

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_Alright, not much action in this one, I apologize, but there will be more coming up._

Keelah se'lai!


	4. Chapter 4

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Even though night had fallen, 77 could still feel the baking heat of the planet's unstable sun. He sat on his bunk with his armor in pieces lying around him. Carefully, he inspected them one by one. None of them had been damaged during the brief firefight it took to get to the Quarian camp. He picked up his helmet and stared at his reflection in the silver reflective visor.

The Quarians were shocked when he took off his helmet. The Spartan IV project had a certain side effect. The drugs used in the augmentation process turned most of the candidates' pupils a bright crimson red. 77 was one of them.

He sighed as he remembered his augmentation. The Spartan shuddered as he recalled the scorching fire racing through his veins. For many days afterward, he couldn't talk, walk, or eat. The simplest tasks left him breathless. But eventually he recovered. He was one of the lucky ones. Four of every five Spartan IV's survived. That's twenty percent that didn't make it.

77 gripped his helmet tighter as he saw the faces of his brothers and sisters he trained with, and how they looked when they didn't survive the operation. Broken bones jutted from various places of their bodies, threatening to break through their skin. Their limbs hung limply from the stretchers and their faces were pale with death as the camp personnel carried them to the morgue.

The Spartan shook his head to clear his thoughts. He looked towards his elites. They snored silently, some with their mandibles wide open, they were used to the heat, their home world had three suns after all. The Sangheili were sloppy with their armor, the pieces were scattered around the floor in a messy jumble of parts. 77 took the time to organize the pieces for them. He couldn't sleep this night; faces of his deceased brethren would continuously haunt him. He missed the steady hum of a ship's engines.

Deep in his thoughts, his snapped up and his hand instinctively twitched toward his pistol as the door of the barracks hissed open. A Quarian stepped inside, she had a slight build and very feminine curves, but 77 was unaware of these things as he suspiciously eyed the knife strapped to one of her boots.

"I'm sorry if I startled you." She whispered in a strange accent. "All the other sleeping quarters are full."

77 glanced at the rest of the bunks and saw that none of them were empty. He eyed the Quarian again who had obviously been working longer than he had been. He could tell from her sagging shoulders and how she dragged her feet. The Spartan couldn't disappoint the poor girl; he rose from his small bed and offered it to her, "Here, I couldn't sleep anyway."

"No, I can't just-"

"It's okay, really. One sleepless night won't kill me." And with that, the Spartan left.

He didn't really know where he was going or why, he just needed to get some fresh air. After a full seven minutes of walking, 77 found himself in the camp's armory. He saw rows of small arms. Several pistols and assault rifles lined the walls, but there were no explosive launchers.

But there was something strange about the weapons: they were all too small. 77 picked up one of the pistols and watched it expand into its full size in his hands. He aimed down the sights and smiled.

"I see you favor the Predator heavy pistol."

The Spartan jumped and brought the weapon to bear at the intruder. The Quarian who spoke raised his hands in a gesture of peace. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare ya." Slowly, 77 lowered the pistol until it was pointed at the ground.

"No, I'm sorry, I could've killed you." The Spartan put the weapon back where he found it.

"Don't sweat it. But I am curious as to what you're doing in the armory at this hour."

The Spartan shrugged nonchalantly, "Couldn't sleep."

After another moment of silence the Quarian spoke again, "You aren't like any of the other humans I've seen."

77 snapped to attention, "You've met other humans?"

"Sure, they're pretty much everywhere." He spoke on like nothing happened, but the Spartan was deep in thought. _'If there are other humans outside of UNSC space, then what else are we missing?'_

"Are there any other races out there? Like… other species?"

"Yeah, there are the Asari, Salarians, Krogans, Batarians, Turians, Drell, and I occasionally see a Hanar here and there."

"What about those synthetics out there?"

The Quarian stiffened at the mention of Geth, "We… we built them."

77 cocked his head to one side, suddenly interested.

"Long ago, we created the Geth for manual labor, we don't know how, but they managed to gain sentience and rebel against us, drive us from our home world, and keep us on the run." The Quarian shook his head forlornly, "You should try and get some sleep. Tomorrow's going to be a big day."

Before the Spartan could ask what he meant, he walked away. Still confused, he started for the barracks before remembering that it was occupied. The Spartan strolled outside and lay on the hard concrete, staring up at the stars. The bunks weren't much softer than the ground anyway. Slowly, his eyelids started to feel heavy and to his surprise, he yawned. As the minutes ticked by, he drifted off to sleep, unbothered by the faces of the dead.

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77 could feel himself being shaken awake. "Demon, demon wake up!" He groggily opened his eyes to his second in command Sangheili. His movements were sluggish as he pushed away the elite and climbed to his feet. Immediately, he went for his armor which was still in the barrack where he left it.

Within mere seconds, the Spartan was covered in full Mark VII armor. He picked up his MA37 assault rifle and attached it to his back. "The Quarian team leader wishes to speak with us in the debriefing room." The elite spoke again.

"Tell the rest of the Sangheili to regroup there."

"They are already there; we've been waiting for you." That stopped the Spartan dead in his tracks.

"How long have I slept?"

"About 6 hours sir." The Sangheili replied.

The Spartan continued walking, "Damn it, why didn't you wake me sooner?"

"We couldn't find you sir."

77 grunted in annoyance but said nothing. As they entered the debriefing room, the Quarian girl the Spartan met last night was standing at the front of the room. All eyes were on the Spartan as he joined his team.

"Human, I am squad leader Tali'Zorah vas Neema. I believe we've met but we never got a chance to introduce." She said when he finally took a spot with his troops.

"I'm Spartan C-77."

"What about your name?"

77 cocked his head to one side, "Spartan IV's aren't given an official name, only a serial number. That is sufficient for identification."

He could see the Quarian frown behind her visor, "You don't have a name?"

"No." 77 replied bluntly.

"Very well… 77. I appreciate you helping us against the Geth, but I need to know where your allegiances lie. We can't work together if we keep expecting a shot in the back."

The Spartan nodded once, "At the moment, I'm a soldier without a superior. I'll trust you enough to follow your orders… for now."

The other Quarians in the room let out their held breaths and the tension seemed to ease up. "Good, we have the data we came for, but the sun's radiation is interfering with our transmission signals. That means I'll have to personally deliver the data to the admirals. We'll return to the Fleet when we've packed up. Understood?"

The Spartan's HUD immediately marked Tali as a high-priority package, "Yes ma'am."

"Dismissed."

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_I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Because the next one is going to be bloody… I hope._


	5. Chapter 5

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The smell hit before the sound. Even 77's helmet filter could not stop the acrid odor of burning flesh and gunfire he knew all too well. Outside, Tali was rapidly giving orders to her troops while others scurried about packing the data equipment. The Spartan looked towards his elites. They stared at him expectantly, waiting for his orders.

"Those synthetic bastards out there," he spoke with a fierce determination, "they shot down our ship, and killed our comrades. They think they can mess with us?" 77's hands clenched into fists at his sides, "When we get out there, we'll lay down one rule for them. That rule is that you **do not **fuck with the UNSC! Hoo-ah!"

The Sangheili raised their heads and roared in approval. Some drew their plasma rifles in anticipation. "Let's move!" The small team surged forward out onto the combat zone. Almost instinctively, 77 went for the high-priority marker on his HUD.

Tali was at the center of the camp, helping to load the supplies onto their ship. Her head snapped up at the sight of the squad of massive Sangheili and one particular Spartan.

"77! Kal'Reegar is at the west barricade and he needs help, but we need someone to reinforce the south entrance before-" Her sentence was interrupted by a massive explosion as a nearby gate was blown open into dust and twisted scraps of metal. "They're here."

Floating drones rushed in and opened fire on the team, two Quarians were gunned down while Tali and the Sangheili were forced to take cover. The elites returned fire and a few drones exploded as the plasma bolts caught them, but only more arrived followed by Geth troopers.

77 shouted over the chaos and gunfire, "Ma'am, with all due respect, we can't worry about Reegar right now. We can't hold this position for long; we've got to move to higher ground fast!"

His meaning was accented as the western gate was also blown open. Tali gripped her shotgun as she thought, "The observatory! It's reinforced with armor and it overlooks all entrances!"

The Spartan nodded once, "Alright we'll go on three, 1… 2… 3!" The team retreated, firing blindly behind them as they ran. Plasma shells whizzed past them missing by millimeters as they sprinted.

"Move faster!" 77 yelled as Tali began to fall behind.

She was gasping for breath and the Sangheili were far in front of her. The Spartan came from behind her and swept her legs from beneath her and flung the Quarian over his shoulder. Tali gasped in surprise as 77 took off at about 45 mph. They quickly caught up to the elites who were already returning fire at the incoming Geth.

The Spartan unceremoniously dumped Tali onto the floor of the building, "Seal the entrance, lock the doors, we'll keep them busy."

The Quarian nodded and closed the door as 77 left to join the fight.

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The Spartan quickly took cover behind a wall just as the Geth arrived. He checked his assault rifle, the ammo counter read 14. He dropped the gun's magazine and slapped in a fresh clip and rose over his cover.

He targeted the first trooper he saw and squeezed the trigger. The rifle kicked back in his grip as molten lead was pumped into the geth. After the trooper fell to the ground, 77 zeroed in on another and dropped that one as well. Everything in his line of fire died.

But their efforts were in vain as for every trooper they killed; there would always be two more to replace it. The raging fight continued until the Geth Hunters arrived. 77 didn't notice their presence until one of his elites was blasted back by their powerful shotguns. The Spartan leapt forward and tackled it to the ground, unloading half a clip into the geth's large unblinking eye, destroying its shields and ripping its head apart.

77 moved on and eliminated a few more troopers with well-placed shots. Geth reinforcements came via dropship. As the large bug-like ships dropped more robots, it fired a barrage of projectiles. The elites scrambled behind cover as the volley hit, kicking up columns of dust and debris.

"Man down!" One of the Sangheili cried as he knelt over another. The injured soldier had both of his legs blown off by the explosion, his purple blood pooling around him. He wouldn't make it.

The Spartan shook his head, they were dropping like flies. He gritted his teeth and raised his rifle again and opened fire once more, spraying the advancing synthetic troopers with lead until the gun emitted a loud _'clack.'_ 77 reached for another clip on his belt, but there were no more.

He discarded the assault rifle and pulled out his pistol. In the distance, he could see a shuttle land away from the fighting.

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"Tali is somewhere in these ruins Shepard." EDI reported as the man stepped off his shuttle along with a woman in a black suit and a turian.

"Stay in the shade and keep your eyes open." The commander said to his team. He could hear the thrumming of pulse rifles far away. Shepard took hold of his Predator heavy pistol and activated his tech armor as he ventured forward.

The small group moved through the buildings, finding both Geth and Quarian bodies strewn over recent battlefields. "It looks like a science group. But what are they doing way out here?" the woman wondered aloud.

"That doesn't matter, let's just grab Tali and get the hell out of here." The turian said. "Assuming she made it that is."

Shepard glared at him, "I know she's alive Garrus."

The turian shrugged, "Just saying, don't get your hopes up too soon."

The commander shifted his gaze across the bloody courtyard. He frowned as he came upon a damaged Geth. Shepard scrutinized the holes in its chassis. "Bullets, this Geth was killed by bullets."

"What, like lead bullets?" Garrus leaned in closer for a better look. "I thought those were long outdated."

"They are."

"We should move on, we aren't going to find Tali looking at deactivated Geth." The woman tapped her boot against the ground impatiently.

"Well we also have to find out what happened here Miranda." Shepard retorted.

"The Geth attacked, Quarians died, that's what happened here."

The commander ignored her comment and continued to investigate. There were more destroyed Geth troopers, some were melted by plasma burns. Shepard's frown deepened, now the geth were shooting at each other? _'Just what the hell happened here?'_

"Shepard! You're going to want to see this." Miranda's voice shook him from his thoughts. "What is _that_?"

The commander came upon a body that wasn't Quarian. Its head was oblong with four mandibles on the face end and its torso and arms were bulging with muscles, its legs were double jointed and heavily muscled as well. Miranda was already scanning it with her Omni-tool.

"Could it be a turian?" Garrus asked.

"The armor configuration doesn't match any known manufacturers. And it's definitely not a turian, not with those strange mandibles." Miranda replied.

"It could be a new species." Shepard said, "Alright, let's move, we still have to find Tali."

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The Sangheili sighed in relief as the Spartan sprayed bio-foam into the gaping hole in his chest and applied a bandage to the injury.

77 looked towards what was left of his team. Only five of them remained out of the total of fourteen. And two of the five remaining were seriously injured. The Spartan had run out of ammo a while ago, now he resorted to using grenades which did a good job of knocking back the robots but only for a few seconds.

He grimaced as he threw his last grenade, the explosion sent up a shower of geth parts and dirt.

Suddenly, another enemy dropship appeared out of the sky and passed over them, unloading more geth and another volley of rockets.

The elites were too slow to take cover as the rockets hit and their bloody remains were scattered across the ground.

"Shit." 77 growled as the rest of his team was marked KIA on his HUD. He retreated back into the observatory and locked the door.

Tali's attention was buried deep into a terminal when the Spartan entered. She jumped when he put a hand on her shoulder. The Quarian whirled around to stare at her own reflection in 77's visor.

"We have to go." The Spartan said as he held his hand against a deep gash on his abdomen.

"Where's the rest of your team?"

"KIA, now let's move before they get through." He grabbed her hand and led her through another door which opened to a long hallway. As they came to a corner, the Spartan stopped and peeked around the wall.

In the perpendicular hallway, there was the largest geth 77 had ever seen, facing the opposite direction.

"A Geth Prime." Tali whispered, "Maybe we can go around it…"

Without a word, 77 unsheathed his knife and silently approached the massive robot. Tali tried to call out to him to come back, but the geth would notice them. She was gripped with fear as the Spartan continued forward. With a graceful leap, 77 wrapped his arms around the geth prime's thick neck and jammed his knife into its back. The synthetic jolted in surprise but that was all the hesitation it would give as it reached up to its back and pulled off the Spartan and slammed him into the wall.

Tali gasped in fear. The sound drew the massive geth's attention as it turned its gun on her. But before it could fire, 77 grabbed the barrel of the weapon and smashed the butt into the geth's head, throwing off its aim for a moment. Before it could recover, 77 climbed onto its back to renew his attack. He found his knife in its back and ripped it out, sending a spray of white from the wound.

The Spartan reached up and drove the knife down into the Geth Prime's head with all his might. The titan collapsed into a heap of junk and the light faded from its optics.

"You… you just… How…?" Tali stammered.

"We've got to keep moving." 77 said stoically as if nothing had happened. He wretched his knife from the geth's head and continued forward.

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"There's been fighting here, recently." Miranda said as she analyzed another one of the strange aliens.

"And it looks like the mutant turians were doing pretty well too." Garrus said as he looked over all of the dead geth.

"If there are still any alive, they ought to be in the observatory." Shepard murmured.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Garrus walked on ahead.

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_There, another chapter down. PLEASE REVIEW! I need your constructive criticism._


	6. Chapter 6

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The Spartan continued down the long hallway, keeping his knife close as he made his way deeper into the observatory.

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" Tali whispered behind him.

"No." 77 said without looking back at her. The Spartan increased his pace as he tightened his grip on his knife's black, worn handle. The passageway was so dimly lit that 77 almost didn't see the door in front of him. He stopped in front of the entrance, waiting for it to open, but it wouldn't budge. The Spartan frowned, "There's something wrong with this door." Tali stepped forward and scanned it with her omni-tool.

She shook her head, "It's heavily guarded by quite a few firewalls, it'll take a few minutes before I can hack through." The Quarian typed something into her shimmering forearm. 77's head snapped towards the end of the tunnel from where they came, he heard the distinct sound of the synthetics.

"We have company."

Tali began to type faster as the geth approached.

The Spartan shook his head, "It's no use. You can get out from there." He pointed to an air duct on the wall.

"What about you?" The Quarian asked worriedly.

"I'll find my own way out. Be sure to keep in radio contact. Now go." He pulled on the vent covering, and with a loud groan, the metal gave way and was ripped from the wall. Tali scurried into the hole and 77 replaced the cover.

Just as he did, loud Geth chatter could be heard echoing down the long passageway. 77 activated his active camouflage and hid in the shadows, hoping that the robots didn't have infrared. He caught a glimpse of their flashlight eyes in the distance, there were about four troopers, maybe two hunters. There was a chance the Spartan could sneak past them if they just ignored him.

Their stuttering sounds grew louder as their pale white bodies came into view. They scanned the hall as they walked, their glowing eyes swayed from side to side, scouring every inch of path they covered. 77 held his breath as the group neared. For a moment that seemed like an eternity, their unblinking eyes passed over the Spartan. They stopped at the entrance and waved a shining omni-tool in front of it. Obeying their command, the door slid out of their way and they continued forward, oblivious to the faint shimmering in the air behind them.

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"Hey, Shepard, I've found something!" Garrus called.

The commander rushed over, and knelt down next to the huge chassis of the Geth Prime. "It wasn't killed by a gun; there's no sign of kinetic trauma, and the angle of its wounds suggests that it was impaled by something." Shepard noted.

"A knife maybe?" Garrus asked.

"Looks like it, I'd say about seven to nine inches long." Miranda replied.

"Yeah, but who's ever heard of killing a geth with a knife? Let alone a Geth Prime." Shepard, frowned, "Whoever destroyed this thing possessed considerable strength to drive a sharp object clean through its shields and armor."

"You think it might've been one of the newcomers?" Miranda tapped at her omni-tool, "Their muscle structure did look impressive enough to do that."

"I don't know, but whoever or whatever did this probably knows where Tali is, if we find them, we just might find her." Shepard concluded, "Move out."

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77 followed the geth for a while, tracing the path of the vent Tali was in. As they passed an adjoining hallway, the vent branched off. 77 stopped and took a different route.

When he made sure the geth were far from hearing range, 77 opened a comm. channel with Tali, "Where are you?"

"I think I'm going through the primary maintenance shaft. I see light up ahead."

77 spotted the correct entrance and ripped off the cover, after a moment, he could see Tali's purple mouth light. A few more seconds later, she fully emerged from the darkness. The Spartan helped her to her feet, "It's all clear, for now. We have to keep moving. Looks like the Geth sent patrol squads down here to look for survivors."

"How did you get past them?"

"I'll tell you when we get out of here, now come on!" 77 waved her forward. He could see something coming from the tunnel behind them; the Spartan readjusted his grip on his knife and turned on his active camo.

"Tali!" The commander called out.

The Quarian froze with surprise, but the Spartan didn't hesitate as he grabbed the man's chest plate and slammed him against the wall and pressed his knife against his neck. Two more figures emerged from the darkness and directed their weapons at him.

To the Spartan's surprise, the man waved his hand at the other two to stand down.

"Stop it 77, they're my allies!" the Spartan's gaze flickered towards Tali and back to the man's strong glare. "I said stand down!"

Slowly, 77 stepped back and sheathed his blade. "Fine, but I need answers, who are you and what are you doing here?"

Shepard rubbed his neck as he replied, "I'm Commander Shepard of the Normandy, and I'm here to recruit Tali for my mission."

"You don't look like those aliens we saw at the entrance." Garrus piped up.

"The Sangheili? Yeah, they were soldiers under my command, some of my best too." 77 shook his head sadly. "I'm Spartan C-77, Tali is my current superior."

Shepard glanced at the Quarian in surprise.

"It's a long story."

"Do you know a way out of here?" 77 asked.

Shepard nodded, "There's only one way in and out of this place, the entrance, but that place is crawling with Geth."

"Alright, but I need a weapon." The Spartan said, glancing down at his knife.

"How do we know you're just going to shoot us in the back later?" The woman questioned, her voice dripping with distrust.

"You don't." His tone was ominous, "So you're just going to have to trust me."

After a moment, Shepard handed him a spare SMG and several thermal clips.

"Shepard!" Miranda protested.

"Now's the time when we need more allies than enemies, Miranda." Shepard said almost harshly.

She backed down reluctantly. After a moment of examining his weapon, the Spartan nodded in satisfaction.

"Okay, let's get off this rock." Tali said, pulling out her shotgun.

"Agreed." Shepard said.

"I'll take point sir." 77 said, shifting into Spartan mode and raising his sub-machinegun out in front of him. This time, he would not hide from his enemies.

As a geth patrol came into view, 77 lengthened his strides until he came at a dead sprint while spraying the synthetics with projectiles. The geth were unprepared as two of the troopers were downed while the Spartan continued to charge. He sent a Geth Hunter flying back with a powerful kick and killed the other with a burst from his SMG. By then, the remaining two troopers returned fire, taking down the Spartan's shields to 35 percent.

77 growled, he whipped out his knife and hurled it at one of the synthetics as he barreled down on the other. The knife plunged deep into the geth's optic while the other was roughly shoved to the ground. The Hunter 77 kicked climbed to its feet and readied its shotgun, its single eye pulsating a violent blue.

Quickly, the Spartan grabbed the trooper on the ground and hefted it in between him and the Hunter's plasma shotgun. He felt the geth in his hands jerk back as the Hunter opened fire. 77 felt four more shots until the hunter had to reload. He took this chance as he dropped his improvised shield and let loose a hail of bullets into the hunter, deactivating it permanently.

77 ejected his spent thermal clip and inserted another one as the team gaped at him in surprise, Garrus's mouth was slack as he marveled at the Spartan, Shepard raised an eyebrow and Miranda had a faint grin on her lips. Tali was unimpressed as she had seen him work during his time at her camp.

"Not bad." Miranda commented dryly.

"We have to keep moving," 77 grunted as he pulled his knife from the dead geth.

He continued forward as everybody else followed, _'We just might have a chance against the Collectors…' _Shepard thought idly as he watched the Spartan.

At the observatory's entrance, Tali gasped as the door opened.

"How long has _that _been there?" Garrus asked.

Staring at them with its one large eye, pulsating with energy was a Geth Colossus.

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_There hoped you liked this chapter._


	7. Chapter 7

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"Move!"

The team split up a fraction of a second before the Colossus let loose a siege pulse from its gleaming eye. Shepard, Miranda, and Garrus scrambled for cover while Tali and 77 opened fire. This drew the four-legged geth's attention. A faint humming sound grew louder as its pulsating eye shone with increased intensity.

Tali and 77 took cover just as another siege pulse blasted a smoking, charred crater where they stood only moments ago. The second group opened fire while the massive geth was preoccupied.

It seemed to whine and chatter angrily as it turned around to face Shepard's group and spray them with its machine cannons, forcing them to take cover once more. Slowly, they whittled down the geth's shields until it gave under too much fire. Suddenly, the colossus tucked its legs beneath it and sealed itself within its armor.

"What the hell is it doing now?" 77 said as he rose from cover to attack again.

"It's fixing its shields." Tali replied, reloading her shotgun with another thermal clip.

The Spartan growled in frustration as the geth rose again with its kinetic barriers fully charged. He sprayed the Colossus again and again, not bothering to aim. The others joined in the attack and very soon, the geth's shields collapsed.

Suddenly, the Spartan leapt forward over his cover and climbed onto the geth's plated back. When it rose again, 77 had slipped under the Colossus' kinetic barriers. Realizing it had an unwanted passenger, the geth growled and jumped up and stood on its hind legs attempting to throw the Spartan off without accomplishment.

It tried to buck its hind legs, but only succeeded in knocking down a stone pillar. 77 gritted his teeth and dug his hands into the Colossus' armor and held fast. He wasn't getting anywhere in this position. Slowly, he inched his way up the geth's back and finally reached the base of its neck. He reached for his SMG and shoved the barrel into a chink of its armor. 77 pulled and held the trigger, shredding the inside of the Geth.

With one violent buck, the Spartan's grip loosened and his SMG flew from his hands. 77 was about to fall before he caught a hold of a stray wire. His muscles screamed with effort as he pulled himself back upright. 77 pulled his knife from the sheath and drove it hard into the hole in the Colossus' armor.

The massive geth whined in pain as the Spartan on its back wrenched away pieces of thick armor to reveal its inner machinery. 77 slowly cut his way into the colossus, hacking his way through various wires and synthetic fibers until he came upon a dimly glowing metal orb. _'This looks important…' _77 thought. He pulled hard on the thing, it groaned in protest until it finally came off in 77's hands.

With a shuddering screech, the huge Geth Colossus toppled to the ground. The Spartan grunted with effort as he climbed out of the geth's chassis. Standing at the top of the wreckage, 77 stumbled in dizziness and fell face first onto the ground.

When he was turned on his back, he saw everyone else staring at him mouths agape in shock. The Spartan staggered to his feet and tossed the orb he retrieved to Tali, "Here, a little souvenir."

Her eyes widened farther in surprise, "How did you salvage the geth's data core?"

"Is that what that is?" 77 gave one dry chuckle. "I thought it was a hood ornament."

Shepard approached him, "That was amazing, we could use someone like you on our team."

The Spartan considered this for a moment.

"They pay is good too." Miranda suddenly said.

77 turned toward the woman, "I don't care about money ma'am, I care about protecting and saving lives."

"Well then you're in luck, the Collectors have kidnapped thousands of humans, you want to save lives, there's your chance." The turian said.

"It's his choice Garrus." Shepard snapped. "We're going up against impossible odds, you could die, even with your skills."

77's lips pulled up in a wry smile obscured by his helmet visor, "Don't you know? Spartans never die. I'll join your team Shepard."

The commander nodded in satisfaction and they started for the shuttle landing zone, retracing their steps. Tali cringed as she passed the battlefields, littered with Quarian and geth corpses. So many lives had been lost for the data they were sent to collect.

The shuttle was in view, its white hull reflected the overheating sun. Tali was distracted as she studied the data core. In the distance, a small glint caught the Spartan's eye. He frowned, was that…? His pulse quickened as he recognized the figure in the distance as a geth trooper. And in its hands was a long range sniper rifle.

77 traced the direction its barrel was pointed at and realized with horror; it was aimed straight at Tali. His decision was made with absolutely no hesitation. Time seemed to slow down, he pushed himself, his only desire was to get between the bullet and the Quarian. _'BANG'_ the projectile was fired, and he had to stop it, if only he could get to her faster. _There!_ He was in position, he waited for the impact. There was a slight whizzing sound, and then he felt it. The shot pierced his shields, punched through his armor, and entered his flesh.

Not missing a beat, 77 grabbed the pistol on Tali's thigh, took aim and fired. The sniper dropped to the ground with a new hole in its head. The shot drew the team's attention, they whirled around with their weapons drawn. Tali froze with alarm as the Spartan fell to all fours, panting heavily.

"77! Are you okay?" Shepard said as he rushed over to him.

The Spartan grimaced, "It's just a flesh wound… I'm fine." He didn't realize he was pressing a hand against where he was hit. He frowned as his hand came away slick with blood.

"Shepard do something!" Tali cried as she knelt down next to the wounded Spartan.

Hurriedly, Shepard typed a command into his omni-tool, delivering a dose of medi-gel. Grunting in pain, 77 struggled to his feet. He did his best to ignore the soreness shooting through his torso. He made it a few steps towards the dropship before he collapsed again, his vision dimming.

Garrus and Shepard grabbed his arms and half carried half dragged him to the shuttle. 77 laid on his back, staring up at the ship's ceiling. Tali sat next to him, she removed his helmet and the team gasped as they beheld the Spartan's bright crimson eyes. He felt himself being lifted from the ground as the dropship powered towards the Normandy.

77's vision was deteriorating rapidly, he tried to focus on something, anything to make sure he didn't lose consciousness. Finally, Tali's helmet came into view, the Spartan could almost see her face through the purple visor, she frowned in concern and said something, but he couldn't hear what it was. 77 felt himself slipping away.

The Spartan's lips pulled up in a slight grin as his world faded around him.

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_This is not the end, so do not panic. _


	8. Chapter 8

"It's been a week since the Titan of Light submitted a report and they aren't responding to our transmissions." Admiral Raiden said, looking out over the assembly of senior officers and Sangheili. "We can only guess that they're KIA or they've suffered a major power outage."

"When and where did they stop responding, Admiral?" Fleetmaster Raya'Lekora asked in his deep Russian accent.

"They were out in unexplored space, somewhere in the Theilus System. It is unsure when they disappeared, but their status report is two days late."

"Our deep space scanners didn't pick anything up either." Colonel Kendall added.

"Shouldn't we be sending search and rescue teams? Surely, a Destroyer doesn't just vanish." Shipmaster Sviem'Ukai spoke out.

"We already did, Shipmaster. So far, we've found nothing, but we'll keep searching until we find something."

"There'll be many empty graves until you do, Admiral." Raya said solemnly.

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The scent of sterile linen entered the Spartan's nostrils as he inhaled. He was on a ship, 77 knew from the artificial gravity and the humming of the engines. He heard voices beside him, in a second, his senses sharpened as he focused his attention on what the people were saying.

"Where'd you find this one? He's huge! And his eyes…" a voice of a more elderly woman said.

"He says that he was with an recon group investigating the Quarian ruins on Haestrom." Shepard replied. "He's a pretty good fighter."

"That would explain the increased muscle growth and bone strength."

When 77 opened his eyes, his vision was blurry at first, but as time passed, shapes and figures came into focus.

"He's awake."

The Spartan groaned as he tried to sit up. "Where am I?"

"Welcome aboard the Normandy Spartan, when you're up to it, meet us in the briefing room." Shepard said as he left the medical bay.

The woman turned her attention towards 77. "You took quite a shot back there, you're lucky to still be alive."

"Who are you?"

"I'm Doctor Chakwas, the Normandy's senior medical officer. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine ma'am. I just need to walk it off." 77 struggled off the cot he was on.

"Whoa, you're not going anywhere, not until you fully recover." She extracted a needle from one of her pockets.

"Really Doctor, I'm alright." Then he looked down and realized that his armor was gone and the only thing he was wearing was a hospital gown. "Um, can I have some clothes?"

"Well, if you insist…" She opened a closet and picked out a shirt and a pair of shorts. "This is the largest size we have."

He took the clothing gratefully and proceeded to a changing room. Indeed, the shirt was a bit tight, but the shorts were decent.

When he exited the medical bay, he felt several eyes on him. The crew members eating their daily meals were staring at him, some with apprehension, and others with surprise or intrigue. 77 ignored them all until he came to the elevator. The panel in front of him showed five levels, he was currently at the Crew Deck. He guessed that the briefing room was in the Combat Information Center.

When he selected the right floor, the elevator doors closed and in a few moments, he was there. He came upon a girl, about in her late twenties, when he tapped her shoulder she turned around in surprise.

"Oh, hello, you must be the wounded soldier the Commander brought in, I'm surprised you're already up and about. I'm Yeoman Kelly Chambers." She stuck out a hand for a handshake, but 77 just stared at it until it fell.

"I'm looking for the Briefing room, I was wondering if you could give me directions."

"Certainly," She smiled cheerfully, "There are two entrances, you can either go in through the Armory, or the Tech Lab, on the side, there should be a door that leads to the Briefing Room."

"Thank you."

"No problem." Chambers chirped.

The Spartan decided to go in through the Tech Lab, he wanted to see his armor before he talked with Shepard. There it was, resting on a worktable. The armor looked new, with its dents and scratches gone. _'These people work fast…' _he thought to himself.

77 thought about putting on his armor, but decided against it as he walked towards the Briefing Room. As he entered, he spotted Shepard, Miranda, Garrus, an African American, and another alien. Tali was nowhere in sight.

Shepard nodded at him in greeting, "Hello 77, it's time to introduce you to the rest of the crew. You already know Miranda and Garrus. Jacob," he gestured towards the African American, "is the Normandy's Armory Officer. Mordin, is a salarian, he runs the Tech Lab."

The Salarian scrutinized 77 and frowned for a moment, "How old are you exactly?"

"19 years old, why?"

There was a collective murmur among the group.

"How much training have you had?" Jacob asked, "I saw footage of you in action, and I have to say, I'm impressed."

"All Spartans begin training at seven months old and train for fifteen years until they are given augmentations and armor. It's standard protocol."

Shepard hissed, "Bullshit, it's standard protocol to start training infants to be supersoldiers? What kinds of people run the Spartan IV project?"

77 met Shepard's glare with a steady gaze, "Spartans were bred to kill. And when forging their own security, people could not afford to make mistakes or take risks."

Before the Commander could make a retort, Mordin jumped in, "Said you were bred, how?"

"By 2592, humans had perfected cloning, using 'empty' sex cells. The Spartan project gathered DNA samples from various families showing repeated increased mental, or physical attributes and injected them into the cells." The Spartan paused to take a breath, "Some candidates came out as healthy children… ten percent came out as deranged mutants… They were discarded via summary liquidation."

"Summary liquidation?" Shepard asked in a low voice.

"Target practice." 77 translated. "Another five percent didn't survive training. Twenty percent of the remaining eighty-five percent didn't make it through the augmentation process."

"That's terrible!" Jacob cried out, "How could they do that to children?"

"They weren't children, they were mistakes better to be rid of." The Spartan replied coolly.

"I think that's enough of an introduction. 77, there is space available for you in the Starboard Cargo Area in Engineering." Shepard said. "We move out in three hours. Dismissed!"

The Spartan nodded his thanks and proceeded back to the elevator after he had one last look at his armor. Before he reached the door, Shepard stopped him, "You might want to check in with Tali, she seemed worried about you."

"Where can I find her?"

"She's also down in Engineering." He gave the Spartan a meaningful look before he left.

When 77 reached the right deck, he found the Quarian working at a terminal. She turned around when he approached, "77! I never got a chance to thank you for saving my life."

"No need ma'am. I was just doing my job."

"I'm sorry for not checking up on you sooner, but I was busy cleaning out the Normandy's engines." Her shoulders sagged as she said this.

"That's alright ma'am, I don't blame you, the mission always comes first."

"Please call me Tali, I'm not your superior anymore."

"Yes ma- Tali." The conversation was getting awkward for him, Spartans weren't trained to socialize. "I'll just be going now."

"I'll see you later." She turned back towards the console.

77 exited the engine room and entered his room. There were several noticeable features, specifically the trash compactor and airlock. When he checked the closet space, it was stocked with extra large ship uniforms. The room also had a restroom, _'Good,' _77 thought, _'wouldn't want to ride an elevator to go to the bathroom.'_

The Spartan sat down on the bed, it wasn't exactly the softest thing he'd ever rested on, but it would do. 77 laid on his back and allowed his mind to drift.

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_That's a little background info on my version of the Spartan IV program. Cruel, but necessary. _


	9. Chapter 9

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"Ladies and gentlemen," Admiral Raiden started, "we have found the remains of the Titan of Light."

A collective murmur spread among the meeting.

"There were no survivors."

The quiet murmuring turned into outrage and shouting. The Admiral tried to calm the group, and after everyone was silent, he continued. "They were investigating an alien colony when they were attacked." An image of the Quarian ruins appeared on the main screen. "Of course, due to ONI Directive 930, Spartan C-077 is declared MIA. Aside from the ruins and the ship, we'd also found evidence of heavy combat and extraterrestrial remains. Also, we have found a massive alien artifact in space near where they were attacked. It is currently under study and investigation."

"You said they were investigating a hostile alien colony, could they be the ones that shot down the Titan?" Colonel Hadden asked.

"Perhaps, there was no sign of orbital defense on the planet. The attack came from another ship." Raiden replied, "The number of opposition is yet to be confirmed."

"You said something about extraterrestrial remains, do you mean actual bodies?" Kendall asked, his voice showed great eagerness.

"Precisely, we have already taken a number of them under study. From what it looks like, there were two already conflicted factions before the Titan arrived."

"Then we are at war!" Raya'Lekora shouted, "The death of our brethren shall not go unpunished!" The other Sangheili roared in agreement and the humans muttered quietly among themselves.

Admiral Raiden spoke softly, "I'll notify the others."

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77 awoke when someone entered his room. His combat reflexes jolted him out of his bed and his hand instinctively grabbed his knife. The figure in the doorway let out a yelp of surprise as the massive Spartan leapt out of his bed and pounced on it.

"Get off of me!" Tali cried as she tried to shove him off.

The realization hit 77 as he climbed to his feet. "I'm sorry, old habits die hard." He offered a hand which the Quarian took gratefully. "Was there something you wanted?"

"I missed the briefing and I need someone to fill me in." she said curtly

"We didn't talk about much; Shepard just wanted to know some things about me." He shrugged, "You didn't miss anything important."

"Well, we didn't get much time to talk on Haestrom though."

The Spartan's crimson irises seemed to shine inquisitively in the darkness, "What do you want to talk about?"

"You never told me how you escaped the Geth patrol." Tali said.

The Spartan's heart rate spiked. He was always nervous when he spoke with other people. But as always, he hid his emotions well. 77 managed to keep his expression blank as he got up and walked over to his armor which he had moved to his room. He tapped in a command into the gauntlet and the suit shimmered and disappeared. His voice was a cold monotone, "Active camouflage allows for temporary invisibility."

"Similar to an Infiltrator's cloaking."

"Yes."

77 stared at her before he spoke, "The Mark VII Mjolnir Powered Assault Armor is a standard issue body protection for all Spartan IVs. We are each given one along with our augmentations at the age of fifteen."

"Fifteen?" She blurted out. "When did you start training?"

The Spartan had forgotten that she had missed the briefing so he told her everything about the Spartan IV training program from breeding to training to graduation. When he finished, Tali was frozen in shock.

When she spoke again, her voice was soft, "I'm sorry."

77 raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

Tali gazed up at him with her pale eyes full of sorrow, "You had to miss your childhood that you deserved."

There was a period of silence before anyone said anything. But then 77 spoke, "Life isn't about what you deserve, but what you have, what you get, and what you decide to do with it."

"Yes but still-

"Tali… I was made for this life. From the moment I first saw the world I knew what I was destined for and what I had to be. I chose this."

"Okay, but what if you hadn't? What if you were forced to do this against your will?"

The Spartan's lips curled into a rueful grin, "It's counterproductive to think about what could've happened. It is better to think about what _has _happened and how you are going to proceed."

Seeing how she could not sway the Spartan's decision she nodded, "Now, back to your armor."

77 stiffened and his smile disappeared and his cold mask returned, "Yes, we were getting off track. What else do you want to know?"

"What can you tell me about its shield systems?"

The Spartan's gaze drifted to his armor sitting on the rack on the far side of the room. "The Mark VII series has shields similar to your kinetic barriers. I don't know the specifics, but in dire situations, it can be overcharged to make the user invulnerable for a short amount of time. However, this is not recommended, because if the overcharge is used too often, it may damage the armor's fusion/plasma hybrid power cells."

There was silence again as the subject drew to a close. "Thank you." The Quarian rose from her seat, "We're probably nearing the Migrant Fleet. I have to deliver this data."

The Spartan nodded and closed the door behind her. For a moment 77 did nothing, then he sat back down onto his bed and pressed his rough calloused hands into his face. He felt the adrenaline and heat fade away, replaced with the typical alertness. Then suddenly one more emotion sprang from within him.

77 didn't know what he felt or why, he was suddenly unsure of himself. Without a second thought he shoved the feeling away, he didn't need any more distractions. Not now, and not ever.

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	10. Chapter 10

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The Spartan's room was silent besides the humming of the engines that he has come to like. He savored the quiet as he pieced together his armor, as always, saving his helmet for last. 77 never liked the constant high-tech noises of the city or the loud roar of a ground vehicle. He liked his peace while it lasted, for it lasted only until he stepped into another raging firefight. Though he enjoyed his shore leaves, he was told that it was going to be a big city they were going to. He couldn't complain; he had worse shore leaves, like the time he wandered into a pirate gang's hideout. Shepard even had the courtesy of giving him a small amount of spending money.

Finally, as the covering slid over his head, he no longer felt vulnerable; he felt as safe as a Spartan could be behind his wall of titanium. 77 checked his suit's systems one last time. Mordin and Jacob had worked to fix and improve his armor. Now it also had kinetic barriers along with the suit's standard shielding. Satisfied that everything was working correctly, he picked up his knife and returned it into its sheath mounted onto his chest. He had considered replacing it, but it had become his lucky charm as well as his weapon.

As he stepped out of his room and into the corridor, another door opened and Tali casually walked out towards the elevator. They only shared a quick nod of acknowledgement as the elevator rose to the Combat Information Center where the rest of the team waited. It seemed as if everyone was staring at the humongous armor-clad giant when he stepped from the elevator.

Shepard, Garrus, and the rest of the team were already at the airlock when the two arrived. The turian looked over the Spartan, "Wow, you're pretty big for a nineteen-year-old."

The helmet speakers made 77's voice sound robotic, "Yeah, I get that a lot."

"I can imagine." Shepard muttered. There was a slight rumble as the Normandy docked with the station. The commander turned his attention to his team, "Alright, we're looking for an Asari Justicar and an assassin. We'll split up into groups of two. Tali, you're with 77, Garrus, with me. We'll look for the Justicar. Miranda and Jacob, Mordin and Grunt, search for leads on the Assassin. Good luck people."

When the airlock opened, 77 was surprised. The planet Illium looked like an Earth city, with soaring skyscrapers and massive buildings, except that everything looked sleeker as well as cleaner. The Spartan smiled with excitement as he walked forward until a hand caught his shoulder.

77 turned around to see Garrus with a serious expression, "Don't be fooled by this place. Everything here is just as dangerous as anywhere else, watch your back kid."

"Noted." 77 replied as he walked off with Tali trailing after him. "So, what is a Justicar?" The Spartan asked Tali.

"They are supposed to be powerful Asari warriors, capable of powerful biotics and trained to handle various weapons. Other than that, I don't know much else about them." She answered.

"Well, do you know where to start searching for one?"

Tali shook her head. The Spartan sighed, "Fine, I've got an idea." It took a bit of walking and a few directions to find the place. Finally, the duo stopped in front of a building with the words POLICE written on it.

"Your idea seems quite basic." Tali commented.

"But it's still an idea."

77 walked forward and stopped in front of the reception desk. The Asari woman looked up at them and immediately said, "If you have problems with the Quarian, then it's not our problem."

The Spartan was confused but then Tali cried out, "Excuse me?" 77 gave her a warning look that she didn't notice. "Just because I'm a Quarian, you immediately think that I'm the trouble? You people are all the same, unreasonable racists!"

The Asari seemed unfazed as she addressed 77, "You should really keep your Quarian under control."

The Spartan's voice hardened into an icy monotone, "I beg your pardon? I think you should apologize to my friend for false accusation."

The woman scoffed, "Why? She's just a Quarian."

77 leaned forward so that his helmet was almost touching the glass that separated them and his voice took on a threatening tone, "Because I said so." The Asari could almost see his hand twitch towards his knife which made him look more intimidating. Brief tension hung in the air between them.

After a tense moment, she relented, "Alright, alright. I'm sorry, now what do you want?"

The Spartan's voice became polite again, "We're looking for an Asari Justicar named Samara."

"Oh, her." The receptionist's tone implied that her encounter with the Justicar was somewhat unpleasant. "She was last seen visiting a spaceport; you can take a cab there."

77 nodded, "Thank you." And he turned away briskly.

When he climbed into the cramped car, he selected the right spaceport just when Tali sat next to him. The doors closed around them and the vehicle lifted off. After the Spartan radioed Shepard, they rode in silence until Tali spoke.

"You didn't need to do that."

"Is this the part where you give the 'I can protect myself' speech?" 77 replied, trying to make a joke.

The Quarian chuckled, "No, I just thought that was unnecessary."

"I thought it was necessary, humans from my galaxy completely banished intraspecies racism completely before the 22nd century. Interspecies relations between the Separatists however, are another story."

"Separatists?" Tali asked, curious.

The Spartan thought back to his History classes and tried to remember what he could, "A long time ago, a group of seven species who called themselves the Covenant committed mass genocide on humanity because they deemed us unholy. Billions of humans died in the war that followed." 77 paused before continuing, "The Covenant worshipped these massive rings that they called Halos, believing them to be 'holy relics.' It turns out that the Halos were weapons capable of galaxy-wide destruction, built by an ancient race, the Forerunners to wipe out every sentient life-form in the galaxy to battle a parasite species."

"How did your people win the war?"

"The Sangheili, the elites, they were the first who realized that the Halos weren't meant to be worshipped and turned on the Covenant, siding with us, forming the Covenant Separatists. As the truth was slowly revealed, the Covenant was dismantled and their faith was shattered."

"That's quite a story; I'd imagine humans from our galaxy couldn't have survived an attack of that magnitude, without help of course." Tali said solemnly.

Suddenly, a question popped into 77's mind, "Where is the home world for the humans from this galaxy?"

"They originated from a planet named Elysium, why?"

"Humans from my galaxy came from a planet named Earth." The Spartan frowned, "How can there be two of the same species on different sides of the galaxy?"

"Well, perhaps you're not the same species. Maybe your kind just developed the same way humans did here."

"There are just too many 'maybes' to secure a solid conclusion."

The Quarian nodded in agreement.

As the station came into view, their vehicle slowed and hovered above the parking space before it set down with a slight jolt. 77 looked outside, he could see an Asari and a short, round person in the middle of an argument. When the doors opened and the two stepped out, the Spartan could hear their quarrel more clearly.

"You're not going anywhere until I solve this murder. Do you understand me?" The Asari woman said, sounding quite frustrated.

"But detective, I had nothing to do with that!" the man cried out, sounding equally agitated.

"He was your business partner, you are involved in this somehow."

"But detective-"

"You are staying." The Asari dictated firmly.

The man grumbled, but obeyed. Detective Anaya's head snapped up as the Spartan and Tali approached them. She eyed their weapons suspiciously, "I'm sorry, but this station is currently off-limits to civilians."

"Well, maybe we're not civilians." Tali said.

The detective's eyes narrowed, "No? Then what are you?"

"We're military personnel ma'am. I'm Spartan C-77, this is Corporal Tali'Zorah vas Neema. We're here to find a Justicar named Samara." The Quarian shot him a strange look.

"Wait, are you with the Alliance?" Anaya frowned, "You don't look like Alliance soldiers."

"It's better if you didn't know ma'am, trust me."

The Asari still remained suspicious, "So then, what's your business with the Justicar?"

"You can ask Shepard when he gets here." Tali said, crossing her arms.

The detective's frown deepened, "Shepard? You mean the deceased Spectre?" In a flash, the woman drew her pistol, "Alright, I don't know who you are, but I'm taking you in for impersonation of military officers." 77 thought about disarming the detective to prove her wrong, he would probably dislocate her arm too for good measure.

Before the Spartan could act, a voice spoke behind her, "I don't think that's necessary, detective." The Asari whirled around to face the dead spectre himself. "Put the gun away, you're scaring the locals." The Spartan noticed the turian was not with Shepard.

With slight hesitation, Anaya holstered her weapon. "Are these two with you?" She jerked her thumb towards 77 and Tali.

Shepard nodded.

"Then would you mind telling me what you want with the Justicar?"

"I'm putting together a team for an important mission, and a Justicar could prove a powerful asset."

The detective's expression relaxed slightly, "If you think you can get her out of my precinct, then by all means, go ahead. Just be careful, try not to insult her."

Shepard nodded and led the team forward. When they were out of hearing range, 77 asked, "Did you notice anything strange about the detective?"

"Yeah, she's hiding something." He replied.

"Shepard, what do you think is so important that she was willing to keep from us?" Tali inquired.

"I'm not sure, but we'll soon find out."

They entered a large corridor with cargo from other ships stacked along the walls, as they passed some holographic caution tape, 77 drew his pistol in one hand and his knife in the other, "The Detective said something about mercenary gangs in the area."

Shepard nodded and pulled out his assault rifle, as did Tali with her shotgun. The three progressed forward and could hear voices farther down the hallway.

As the team reached a corner, the commander held up a hand to signal them to stop. Suddenly, he motioned them to scatter. In a hurry, Shepard ducked into a doorway, Tali hid behind a storage crate, and 77 activated his active camouflage.

They held their breaths as two soldiers in a yellow uniform, a Salarian and a female human, walked down the hallway towards them. They continued forward, oblivious and chatting casually about something that related to Asari mind-melding.

Shepard saw the faint outline of 77's armor hidden in the shadows. Subtly he motioned for the Spartan to attack and hoped that he saw it. For a moment, 77 did not move. Shepard was about to signal again when the Spartan slunk towards the unsuspecting mercenaries like a shadow.

There was a near-unnoticeable shimmer in the air behind them. Without warning, the Salarian lurched backward as if he was pulled and gave out a gurgling cry as blood spewed from an open laceration on his throat like a fountain. Soon after, the woman was shoved violently onto the ground. Seemingly out of nowhere, 77 materialized above her, pinning her to the cold metal floor with a hand over her mouth and another pressing the knife to her neck.

She tried to scream, but the sound was muffled by the Spartan's hand, she also tried to wriggle out of his grip, but could not. Shepard and Tali rose from cover and slowly, her cries diminished into whimpers and her eyes shone with undiluted fear. 77 looked towards his commander for the kill signal.

Shepard shook his head 'no.' The Spartan's grip eased back slightly, but he still kept his knife to her throat. The commander knelt down next to the woman, "Where is the Justicar?"

77 removed his hand from her mouth, "I don't know, I don't know! Please don't kill me, I don't want to die! I don't want to die!" The hand went over her mouth again.

"A lower volume is preferred." 77 said. When the woman nodded, he let go of her again and Shepard repeated the question.

"I honestly don't know, I just patrol the area."

Shepard leaned in closer, "You don't know, or you don't want to tell us?"

"I-I don't know. I can't tell you! Or else Wasea will find and kill me!"

"So you do know?"

Blood drained away from her face, "Please don't shoot me, I don't want to die."

The man pulled out his pistol and pressed the barrel against her head, "Tell me."

She burst into tears and 77 could see a blotch of dampness spreading across her uniform's lower torso. The Spartan switched to a different tactic, he pushed Shepard aside and sheathed his knife while still maintaining a firm grasp on the merc, and to everyone's surprise, he took off his helmet.

The woman flinched as she looked into 77's dark ruby irises. "Listen to me," he spoke in a soft, almost comforting voice, "I know you're scared, and I understand. If you tell us where the Justicar is, we'll let you go. Does that sound good to you?"

Shepard was confused for a moment, but then he understood what the Spartan was doing.

"B-But Wasea will find out, she'll hunt me down and kill me." Tears streaked down her face again, "I don't want to die!" she repeated.

"It's okay, everything's going to be okay. Just tell us where the Justicar is."

The merc took a deep ragged breath, "I don't know where she is _now._ But she was last seen deeper into the cargo warehouse, that's all I know."

The Spartan's voice softened further, "Good girl." He gently reached towards the back of the woman's neck and caressed the merc's face with his other hand as if to embrace her. "Good girl." When 77 felt her relax, he jerked his arms sharply, there was a sickening _crack_ as the woman went limp.

"Information acquired, sir." The Spartan said with his usual cold monotone. As he stood up and reattached his helmet, Shepard's face was frozen in shock, but then he shook it off and nodded approvingly.

"Let's keep moving."

They continued forward and Tali walked faster to catch up to the Spartan for it took three steps to match one of his. When she caught up to him she spoke, "What was that?"

"I took advanced psychology and interrogation classes at age ten." He replied. "That approach was appropriate for the situation and the subject of interrogation."

Tali frowned, "No, I mean, why did you kill her?"

77 looked down at her, "The mercenary was a liability. I don't take unnecessary risks unless I have to. Besides…" He turned away from Tali's gaze, "she died painlessly."

Tali was disturbed at how casually he talked about death.

As they entered a large loading bay, they saw another eclipse mercenary, only she was flying. The Asari was screaming until she slammed against the wall next to them and fell silent. Further on, 77 could see another Asari in a red outfit standing over another merc.

With a twist of her leg, the Asari snapped the mercenary's neck. She looked up when Shepard approached her while Tali and 77 stayed behind. The Spartan didn't pay attention to what they were saying and turned towards Tali, "Are you saying I shouldn't have killed the mercenary?"

"Well no, it's just that your methods seem a bit… harsh."

"War is a call for harsh methods. I must do anything and everything to see my mission through. Even if it means I have to do something I don't want to."

"Did your training tell you that?" Tali asked sourly.

77 pondered the question before replying, "Yes."

The two were silent again, but then the Quarian spoke again, "Did you want to kill her?"

The Spartan was caught off guard at the question, "Desire is irrelevant." He thought through what he was going to say next, "I was taught that loss of life is a terrible thing, no matter the faction or motive. But sometimes, loss of life is necessary in order to achieve certain goals."

"I didn't ask what you were taught."

"I was also taught to ignore my desires and emotions, for they could be an obstacle in dire situations."

Tali groaned in exasperation, "Were you taught _everything _you know?"

"Yes, were you?"

Now it was her turn to be surprised, she realized that she _was _taught most of what she now knew. Finally she admitted, "Yes."

Tali no longer pursued her previous question as Shepard returned to them. "The Justicar has agreed to join us on one condition. We have to find the name of a ship the mercenaries used to smuggle a fugitive off-world."

"How do we know where to start?" Tali asked.

"We'll begin by searching the Eclipse base, Samara told me where it is."

"Caution is advised." 77 said, "We are likely to meet heavy resistance."

The walk back to the spaceport was uneventful, and Shepard led them to one of the building's elevators. He pressed the button to go to the right floor, but it glowed red and the panel read "ACCESS DENIED." The commander frowned and tried again, but again the elevator refused to move.

"Tali, a little help here?"

The Quarian started to type some commands into her omni-tool. Soon, the doors closed and they began to move.

00000

Captain Wasea sat at her desk and read the latest status entries as she sipped her drink. She was starting to regret ever helping the filthy creature off-world. She had enough problems with the Justicar, and now word spread that Shepard had arrived too.

The Asari closed her eyes and laid back in her chair, tired with all the day's difficulties. There was a loud beeping as her omni-tool picked up an anomaly. Wasea groaned as she checked to see what it was. The omni-tool showed her the footage from a surveillance camera, her eyes widened as she saw Shepard and two other figures exit the elevator and destroy the LOKI mech stationed there.

Wasea jammed her finger on the intercom button, "I want all personnel on high alert! Shepard has entered the compound and I want him dead!"

00000

77 gunned down another merc with his two SMGs as he proceeded forward. He took cover as another hail of bullets impeded his progress. Behind him, Shepard rose from cover and provided covering fire for Tali who was up front with her shotgun.

The Spartan ejected another two thermal clips and ran forward again, while unleashing a torrent of projectiles on the enemy position ahead. 77 reached the enemies' cover and stood above it, and opened fire, ripping through their barriers and flesh.

Not missing a beat, the Spartan moved on, shooting any mercenary that tried to fall back or be brave. For a moment, he looked back to see Shepard and Tali running to catch up to him. 77 smiled to himself.

As he rounded a corner, a shotgun-wielding Asari stuck the muzzle of the weapon against the Spartan's gut and pulled the trigger. Right then, he was grateful for his armor's two layers of shielding, for the blast wasn't enough to cause damage, but was enough to knock him back. Without any time to recover, he was blasted again, this time in the chest. His personal shields flared and an alarm went off in his helmet, wailing in his ears.

The Asari smiled, but that expression quickly disappeared as 77 grabbed her weapon and elbowed her in the face, eliciting a _crack_ and a howl of pain. She was about to shoot him again, before her head erupted into pulverized brain matter and crushed skull. The Spartan looked back to see Tali with a smoking shotgun. He nodded his thanks and continued forward.

When he opened the next door, the battlefield opened up into a massive ledge that overlooked the city. 77 spotted three Eclipse mercs with rocket launchers and two shotgun Asari.

They saw the Spartan and opened fire. He ducked behind a storage crate just as Shepard and Tali took up flanking positions. When Shepard heard a brief pause in gunfire, the commander let out a few bursts from his assault rifle, nailing one of the mercs. But another stream of gunfire forced him back into cover.

For a moment, Shepard peeked out of his cover and saw the Spartan charging the enemy… again. One of the launcher-wielding Eclipse targeted 77 and fired. Shepard thought the rocket would explode as it impacted the Spartan, but instead, he grabbed it mid-flight and hurled it towards one of the Asari. The projectile exploded, draining her biotic barriers and sending bloody chunks of meat into the air.

77 jumped over another merc's cover and grabbed him by the neck. The merc started to pull out his pistol, but before he could, he was thrown over the edge of the ledge. The Spartan was thankful that they were up high enough so that he wouldn't have to hear him impact the ground. Moving on, he saw another enemy Asari and sprayed her with his SMGs. He watched her crumple to the floor before he called out, "All clear!"

The team moved into another room which was clear of hostiles. 77 was about to walk past it until he heard a quiet whispering in the room to his right, "Sir, listen."

Shepard stopped and listened, after a moment, he nodded, "Tali, take point."

She raised her shotgun as she opened the door. Behind it, an Asari merc was hiding under a desk. When she saw them, her eyes widened in surprise and leapt to her feet, raising her arms into the sky, "Wait, stop! Don't shoot, I'm not one of them!"

"Your uniform contradicts your prior statement." 77 pointed out.

"But I'm new! I thought that being a mercenary would be cool, but I didn't know what Eclipse was really like!"

"Enough excuses, merc." Shepard pulled out his pistol.

Suddenly, the merc's expression contorted and twisted in anger, "Fuck you too, asshole!" She whipped out her own pistol and fired at Tali. Her shields flickered, but held. Without hesitation, the three blasted away the merc simultaneously. The Asari gurgled and choked as blood filled her lungs and spilled from her mouth and wounds. "Something called Shields, cocky bosh'tet." The Quarian spat.

When she stopped moving, the commander nudged her with his boot, "We should get moving." Shepard said.

77 grinned at Tali's choice of insults as they made their way deeper into the base. They came to another area with a ledge, but no enemies. But that wasn't an excuse to let their guard down. The Spartan's eyes rapidly flicked between his radar and his targeting reticule.

There was suddenly a slight buzzing noise. The group froze; the buzzing grew louder and louder until it became a loud roar. Instinctively, 77 took cover and ejected a thermal clip as a large black shape rose into view.

"Gunship!" Shepard shouted.


	11. Chapter 11

00000

The Commander and Tali took cover just as the ship's mass accelerator machine guns spewed forth a hail of gunfire. The Spartan sprayed the aircraft with his SMG, but the bullets pinged off of its thick armor plating.

77 grunted in pain as the ship turned its line of fire towards him. Thankfully, his kinetic barriers and shields took most of the shots. When the firing ceased once more, the Spartan leaned out of cover to renew his attack. But he quickly retreated as a missile whizzed past his head, missing by centimeters. The team was pinned down and cut off from any retreat or escape routes, 77 remembered this scenario from when he was in Advanced Battle Tactics.

The commander shouted through all the gunfire, "We can't hold out forever, we'll never get out of here unless we take out that gunship!"

"Any ideas, Shepard?" Tali shouted back.

"Just one," he pulled out his ML-77 missile launcher there was only one problem, he never carried more than one rocket. "You two distract it so I can get a clear shot."

Tali nodded and 77 flashed a green acknowledgment light. The three waited for the opportune moment when the gunship would halt its barrage once again. When the firing stopped, Tali and 77 opened fire, causing sparks to dance across the ship's armor, and forcing it to retreat.

Shepard cursed as the gunship hovered out of his weapon's range. Then it suddenly surged forward in a wild charge. The commander took careful aim, being sure to line up the ship's cockpit with his launcher's sights. He fired! The missile streaked towards the aircraft, leaving behind a trail of smoke.

The ship swerved violently to the right in an attempt to dodge the speeding explosive. With uncanny precision, the gunship opened fire on the projectile. The rocket exploded as it was caught in the ship's line of fire. Shepard cursed again as the gunship let loose another onslaught of gunfire upon them.

The commander roared in pain as a shot punched through his shields and armor on his left shoulder. He gritted his teeth and ducked back into cover pressing a hand against the bleeding wound, trying to staunch the blood flow while waiting for his kinetic barriers to recharge. Gradually, the trickle of blood died and the commander tapped something into his omni-tool. Shepard sighed in relief as his suit injected a dose of medi-gel into his wound.

While Shepard was down, the gunship turned its attention to Tali. It sprayed her position with bullets and for the moment, she was pinned down.

77 watched, _'I can't let this go on any longer.'_ He quickly formulated a plan of action and a split second later, he decided to execute it. The Spartan called to his commander, "Sir, if you can draw its attention for approximately 4.12 seconds, I might be able to neutralize the hostile aircraft!"

Shepard nodded as he switched to his assault rifle once more. The Spartan held up three fingers, when he put down one, the commander checked his weapon. The second finger went down; Shepard shouldered the rifle and prepared to rise. The last finger disappeared into the Spartan's fist and the commander stood, directing a torrent of gunfire at the gunship.

The Spartan sped forward at about 45 miles per hour. As he reached the ship, he propelled himself upward with a kick from his powerful legs, using his momentum to launch himself at the ship. The entire frame of the ship rattled as 77 grasped onto the nose of the aircraft. He found a crease that connected the windshield he grabbed it and pried it open, with a large amount of exertion, he wrenched the cockpit open, revealing a stunned Asari merc. She jerked the ship controls hard to the right, trying to shake off the man on her ship. She guided her gunship away from the building, when they were far enough, she let go of the controls and raised her pistol to shoot at the Spartan.

She didn't even get one shot off as 77 reached inside and hauled her out by her uniform collar. The Asari screamed as she dangled helplessly about a few hundred floors above the ground. 77 unclenched his hand to let her fall to her death, but the merc held onto the Spartan's hand for dear life. 77 raised his leg and brought his foot down onto the Asari's face, loosening her hold on his arm and sending her plummeting downward. 77 made sure he kicked her hard enough to render her unconscious so she would not have to feel any more pain when she met the ground; this was as close to mercy as the Spartan would give to his enemies.

The Spartan climbed into the pilot's seat and scanned the controls with his helmet cam and sent the data to his adaptive interface. The controls were similar to that of a falcon. He manually closed the cockpit windshield and grasped the ship controls. He flew back towards the right building.

00000

After 77 managed to board the gunship, the pilot steered away from Shepard's sight. Tali was worried, but he was fully confident in the kid's abilities after what he'd seen on Haestrom.

Suddenly, his radio picked up a transmission, "Shepard, the threat has been neutralized."

"77, where are you?"

"I have assumed direct control of the gunship, I can provide support fire from the air."

"Good to hear, we'll move forward on foot."

"Acknowledged." Shepard cut off his transmission. _'This kid is like a krogan on steroids…'_

He gestured to Tali, "Come on, let's go."

Shepard and Tali took firing positions beside the door to the next room. As the door opened, they stepped in with weapons drawn. There were five merc troopers and two Asari, they were fired upon before they could realize what was happening. Two troopers were downed, but the rest of the mercs dodged into cover and returned fire.

Tali poked her head out to see additional reinforcements arrive from the room beyond theirs. She pressed a button on her communicator, "77? Some assistance would be appreciated!"

No sooner had she said those words the windows burst open as the main gun from the ship tore through the building's thin walls and turning the mercs into mulch. The Spartan grinned as he felt the wild pulse of the heavy machine gun. He saw a group of enemies clustered behind cover. He switched to the gunship's rockets and fired. The explosive blew through the fragile cargo crates the mercs were hiding behind and blasted them into oblivion.

"All clear Tali, I'll try to eliminate hostile forces ahead of you."

"Thanks."

77 guided his metal bird towards the next area, he could see the mercs inside shouting and pointing at him, he smiled and squeezed the trigger. Again, everyone inside the room was pulverized and pounded into dead meat by the deadly stream of bullets.

He moved on, but he saw another three mercs fire at him. He was about to gun them down as well, but then he saw their weapons. _'Rocket launchers!'_ The three projectiles sped towards him, he quickly pulled away. 77 gripped the control sticks tightly and maneuvered the ship so that two of the lock-on missiles collided and exploded in the air. That was two down, one more to go.

77 spun the ship around to face the oncoming rocket while putting the aircraft in full reverse. He took aim and opened fire. He managed to destroy the speeding explosive. He radioed Shepard, "Sir, there are three anti-aircraft troopers in the next room; I can't get close without compromising my vehicle."

"Alright, we'll deal with them." The commander moved forward with Tali taking point. As they entered the room, they spotted the three heavies. They were quickly killed with a few precise shots and a blast from Tali's shotgun.

Finally, the two reached the base's main office. There, the Asari captain Wasea along with a team of Eclipse troopers waited for them. She shouldered her Revenant assault rifle and gave Shepard a cold glare, "Everything's gone from bad to worse ever since you set foot on Illium Shepard, first the Justicar comes poking around, and now you."

"You and your friend outside have caused me quite a bit of trouble," She said, purposely ignoring the Quarian, "But you'll be glad to know that he won't be such a nuisance anymore." Her lips tugged into a wry smile.

As if on cue, a transmission from 77 came through Shepard's communicator, "I'm hit, I'm hit! *_static* _Argh, dammit-!" Then the transmission cut off.

00000

The missiles had come from seemingly nowhere. At first the skies were clear, a few seconds later, 77's gunship was falling through the air in flames as two missiles collided with his left and right engines. The Spartan pulled up Shepard on the COMMs, "I'm hit, I'm hit! Mayday, mayday, mayday, argh, dammit!" Another rocket flew towards him and blasted off the entire tail of the ship. Inside the cockpit, loose wires sparked and fire was all around him and was beginning to grow uncomfortably hot. When he looked outside, he could see a trail of fuel leaking out. The Spartan just hoped that none of the flames would get too close to ignite the fuel.

77 thought over his options, he could abandon ship, but he decided against it. He could try to land it, but then he would be too far away from Shepard to help him. Then he considered his final option, crash the ship into the commander's location and hope to live. Seeing as how that was the best option, with what was left of his control of the ship, he jammed the controls forward. The aircraft groaned and fell towards the building. As the walls grew closer and closer, the Spartan braced himself for impact.

Tali yelled into her communicator, "Spartan, 77 come in! Respond 77!" When she received no answer, the Quarian turned a glare to the Asari.

Wasea lifted her head and let out a sharp cackle, "Looks like your bird just got it."

Tali was about to charge, but she halted when she heard a distant buzzing. The sound grew into the loud screaming of a ship's failing engines. The Eclipse captain looked puzzled, but she suddenly realized what she was hearing and dove for cover.

There was chaos as the gunship crashed through the wall and ground two mercs into the floor in a cascade of debris and sparks flying in all directions. Tali rushed over to the ruined chassis of the gunship to recover the Spartan. She decided to manually rip open the cockpit, but that wasn't necessary, the windshield went flying as 77 kicked it open.

"Oh, still alive are you?" Wasea directed her weapon at them, "No matter, you won't be when I'm through with you!" She opened up with her Revenant, forcing the team into cover.

The rest of the mercs joined in. Shepard gunned down three of them and Tali picked off another with her pistol. 77 searched for a weapon to replace the ones he lost. When he couldn't find one, he pulled out his knife. The Spartan targeted one of the mercenaries and waited for a decrease in enemy fire. When there was, he jumped forward out of cover and pounced on the unlucky merc.

With a quick swipe of his blade, 77 silenced the man with a cut to the throat. He grabbed the fallen merc's assault rifle and unloaded its contents into the last one.

With all her mercenaries dead, the Eclipse captain gave a growl of annoyance, "You useless fools!" She ejected a thermal clip from her rifle and opened up. Shepard and 77 were forced into cover. Seeing her chance, Tali charged Wasea and deployed her combat drone.

The glowing purple orb materialized behind the captain and sent out an electrical shock that drew her attention. Quickly, Wasea destroyed the drone with a burst from her assault rifle and turned to face Tali.

As she turned around, she received a face full of shotgun. Wasea reeled back as the butt end of Tali's weapon collided with her face. She was actually surprised at the Quarian's strength. Not giving any mercy, Tali unleashed shot after shot with her gun, destroying the Eclipse captain's barriers and ruining her armor.

Wasea was brought to her knees, her suit smoking from all the abuse. The Quarian lined up the barrel of her shotgun with the captain's head and her finger eased down the trigger. _'Click'_

The Asari smiled and grabbed Tali's shotgun with one hand while a bright blue flickering aura surrounded her and concentrated in her other hand. She pulled her arm back and shot it forward, releasing a wave of energy at Tali at point blank range. The Quarian was thrown backward by the force of the blast. She flew until landed about ten feet away.

Shepard hurried over to Tali's prone figure while 77 charged at the Eclipse Captain who was now preparing to do the same with him. The blue aura surrounded her again as she charged the Spartan. Wasea threw a punch, augmented by her biotic powers, but 77 caught her arm and kneed her in the gut. The Asari doubled over, the Spartan took this chance to bring his elbow down onto her back.

The Eclipse Captain was on the ground, gasping for breath when the Spartan seized her neck and lifted her up off the ground. Wasea summoned the last of her energy as she threw another biotic pulse at the Spartan.

77's grip did not release, but his helmet came loose and was blown away by the attack. Wasea gasped as she stared into the Spartan's red, angry eyes. He threw her into the air and as gravity pulled her down again, 77 spun and kicked her square in the chest, driving the remaining air from her lungs. The Eclipse captain felt the sensation of flying, but then she was suddenly wrenched back as 77 caught her foot, pulled her back, and sent a powerful well-timed punch down onto her face.

Wasea's vision exploded into stars as the Spartan's fist met her head and her back met the ground, painfully. Just when she thought it was over, 77 mounted her and delivered another blow. Still not satisfied, the Spartan punched her again, and again, and again, and again, each strike increasing in ferocity and frequency. Cracks began to form on the ground beneath them as 77 relentlessly pounded on the Eclipse captain and the Spartan's fists began to come away slick with blood. When he stopped, Wasea's face was an unrecognizable mess of torn skin and pulpy muscle.

The tall Spartan stood over her. In his hand, he held a small black object. 77 pulled the pin on his grenade and inserted it into what was left of the Eclipse captain's mouth. She was too weak to resist as 77 walked away.

She tried to spit the explosive out, but each time, she only succeeded on gagging on thing. Her limbs went cold as she heard the faint _'beep.'_ Her time was up.

The grenade detonated, disintegrating her head and sending blood and bloody bits of Asari flesh throughout the radius of the blast.

77 returned to Shepard and an unconscious Tali, "Sir, how is she?"

"She's alive, but we need to get her back to the Normandy's med bay fast."

"You're wounded." 77 observed. "I can take her back while you search for the ship name and talk with the Justicar."

The commander nodded in agreement and the Spartan picked up Tali bridal-style and took off towards the spaceport faster than when he rushed the gunship. As 77 carried her, he couldn't help but let his gaze flicker down onto her faceplate.

When he was in training, his superiors told him, "Don't make any friends, because they'll just disappoint you by dying." He recalled this statement painfully and hoped to whatever god that was out there that it wasn't true.

He was sure that people were staring at him as he blazed across the spaceport, but he ignored them and increased his speed as he checked Tali's failing vitals on his HUD. The Spartan spotted the Normandy docked with an airlock and rushed towards it. The doors opened as he came through. Crewmembers looked startled as 77 pried open the elevator doors and jumped down the shaft with Tali in hand.

When 77 arrived at the med bay, Dr. Chakwas jumped as he set down the Quarian on one of the cots. "Tali'Zorah is injured and requires immediate medical attention, Doctor."

Without any more words, she nodded and got to work, she held Tali's wrist, feeling for a pulse, when she found it, she selected a syringe filled with a clear-blue liquid and injected it into Tali's wrist. 77 could only watch as the Doctor worked.

Once she was done, the Doctor turned her attention to the Spartan. "I've given her some antibiotics and a few drugs to keep her stable. It'll take a while before she can recover, but she'll live."

77 only nodded and breathed a mental sigh of relief. He exited the med bay and was about to return to his room until a crewmember approached him, "Spartan, our boss the Illusive Man wants a word with you in the debriefing room."

00000


	12. Chapter 12

"Gentlemen, a breakthrough." Admiral Raiden started, "at approximately 0400 hours, our science teams have revealed the purpose of the alien artifact discovered during the investigation of the Titan's fall." A barely-contained grin of excitement broke out across his face as the projector displayed a picture of a mass relay with its long "arms" extending out in one direction with two rings revolving around an element zero core.

"…Well?" One of the elite Shipmasters asked, impatient.

"The artifact's purpose, is to instantaneously transport ships to identical artifacts, several light-years away."

The meeting broke out into frenzy.

"Several light-years?"

"Instantaneous space travel…"

"…faster than slipspace."

The Admiral called the room to order, "This is a demonstration recorded by our science team." The room darkened and the holographic projector showed a ship approaching the relay. The artifact's core pulsed brightly as the ship was enveloped with energy. A split second later, the ship was shot away like a bullet into deep space.

Everyone in the room sucked in breaths of surprise as moments later, the ship 'jumped' back into the camera's view.

Colonel Kendall spoke, "Is the artifact of Forerunner origin?"

"We don't think so, it's just not Forerunner design, its origin is also under investigation."

Shipmaster Sviem'Ukai said, "Were your science teams able to recreate the artifact, build more Mass Relays for ourselves?"

"Unfortunately, all replications of the artifact has failed, we-" The admiral stopped mid-sentence as he received a call on his communicator. He found it strange that any call signal could reach the room he was in now. He picked up and listened for a moment a surprised look, then a excited one crossed his expression, "Excuse me gentlemen, we will continue this topic at 0700 tomorrow."

He exited the room, and he was in a hurry.

00000

The room darkened as the hologram started up. 77 saw who he presumed was the Illusive Man with a cigarette in one hand and a drink in the other. He wore a dark suit and had a very tired expression, he looked more like a millionaire than the head of a secret organization. The only source of light was a hologram of a planet, or was it a star? Swirling with glowing red and bright blue.

"Greetings Spartan, I've heard some good things about you recently."

Knowing he was in the presence of a superior, 77 stiffened and gave a crisp salute, "With all due respect sir, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Cutting to the chase, I see. Very well." He took a sip from his cup, "From what data I've gathered, you've come from another galaxy on the border of ours, correct?"

"Yes sir."

"And does your _kind_ know of the Mass Relays and what they do?"

"Not that I'm aware of, sir."

"I see…" The Illusive Man took another sip from his drink, "Well, now that you're here, what do you make of your situation?"

"I understand that Shepard is a military commander, he is currently my superior and I will follow him, for the time being."

"Has Shepard told you about the mission he is currently on?"

"Missing colonists, low survival odds, and an army of hostiles. That's pretty much the everyday job for a Spartan."

"Don't get overconfident, that's how some of history's greatest warriors died."

"I'll make note of that sir."

"I have a lot riding on this mission's success, don't let me down, Spartan."

"I won't sir."

The Illusive Man's lips twitched into a sly grin, "Don't make promises you can't keep."

Then the transmission cut off and the room brightened again. Seeing as how he still had time to kill, he was about to turn to the armory before the doors of the debriefing room opened to reveal the Asari in red and Shepard. The commander gave him a questioning look filled with worry. 77 returned the look with a small nod and Shepard's expression relaxed slightly.

Not forgetting introductions, Shepard spoke, "Samara, this is Spartan C-77" The Asari scrutinized the Spartan with narrowed eyes and it made him uncomfortable.

She frowned, "You are different from any other humans I've met, I cannot sense you."

77 had no idea what she meant, but he was polite and merely nodded in response. He walked towards the door, but Shepard stopped him and held out the Spartan's helmet.

"You left this behind when you took off."

77 took it gratefully and whispered his thanks. He then proceeded to the armory, still feeling the Justicar's gaze trailing him as he left. _'What's with her?'_ He shook his head clear as he entered the familiar world of weapons. He slid his helmet onto his head and pulled out his pistol and selected a tool hanging from a wall. He fiddled with his weapon, adding tweaks and modifications to his preference. 77 looked up and saw Jacob. The Spartan wondered how long he'd been standing there just waiting.

"I'm glad you came by," the armory officer started, "Shepard's got a little gift for you." He extended his arm and held out a large rifle. "The Widow Anti-Material rifle, a new prototype."

"Much appreciated, Operative Taylor." He took the weapon and was quite surprised at its weight. His HUD classified the rifle as a long-range single shot weapon, a sniper rifle. Just when Jacob was about to return to his duties, 77 asked, "Why me?"

He turned around, "What?"

"Why give this to me? I'm sure Shepard could use it just as well."

The Operative chuckled, "What, you don't know? That's a _Widow_ rifle."

"I am aware."

"It wasn't made for humans, regular people would shatter their arm by firing it." Jacob put emphasis on _regular people._

"Then why have it on a human ship?"

"The Illusive Man likes to be prepared." Jacob muttered and returned to his monitor.

The Spartan shrugged and looked through the scope, not satisfied, he began to modify it as well as his pistol.

00000

Fleetmaster Raya'Lekora of the Separatist assault carrier Destiny of Flame sat atop his gravity throne. He had been chosen to lead a fleet of ships comprised of his own ship, five frigates and two destroyers through the Mass Relay as an exploration group. His ship as well as every ship in the Separatist Navy had been fitted with upgraded MAC cannons and several hybrid plasma/nuclear torpedo launchers. Also, the fleet had been fitted with stronger shields exclusively for their particular mission.

Despite all their upgrades, the captain's mandibles twitched in anticipation as he saw the ships maneuvering into position behind his. A voice came through on a transmission, "You've been cleared for jump Fleetmaster, good hunting."

Raya nodded, "Proceed to jump location."

It seems as if the entire ship held its breath as they passed next to the massive glowing core of the Mass Relay. "Prepare for Jump in T-minus 10… 9… 8… 7… 6… 5… 4… 3… 2…. 1."

The Fleetmaster's hands grasped the arms of his gravity throne and swallowed. The core pulsed brightly and enveloped the ship. The assault cruiser quivered and vibrated with energy. For a moment there was nothing but silence, and then suddenly there was a powerful lurch as the ship experienced a sudden decrease in acceleration and slowed to a grinding halt. There was the aftereffect of exhilaration and surprise among the crew, they were stunned into silence.

"Status!" The Fleetmaster barked.

"We've made a successful jump sir," said one of the helmsmen, "the rest of the fleet should be coming in right about… now."

Just as he said this, one destroyer jumped through and then two frigates came through with the other one. Finally, the remaining frigates jumped through last. The Fleetmaster let out a held breath as he took account of all of the ships under his command.

"Sir, we've picked something up on radar… by the gods, what is _that_?"

Raya's head snapped up to see a humongous object in space, with five gigantic panels attached to a ring-like structure.

He saw several ships depart from the station to meet them. He frowned, "Destiny to all ships, put your weapons on standby, fire only when fired on." The ships all replied with confirmations. A few more ships arrived to form an opposing fleet in front of theirs.

Admiral Anderson aboard the Alliance carrier Phoenix stared with his mouth agape at the huge fleet before him. His own outnumbered theirs, but scans showed that they boasted some serious weaponry. _'Clearly they're not Geth, in fact their ships' designs aren't like anything I've ever seen."_

"Sir, they're hailing us."

"Patch them through." The Admiral replied. An image of an alien appeared on the screen. It had an oblong head and in the place of a mouth were four mandibles, its deep yellow eyes seemed to stare into his.

"Human," It spoke in a deep voice with a slight Russian accent.

"Identify yourself and state your intentions." Anderson said boldly.

"I am Fleetmaster Raya'Lekora of the Separatist ship Destiny of Flame; we are an exploration group traveling beyond the transportation port."

"I'm Admiral Anderson of the Alliance Navy."

"Alliance?" Raya's frown deepened, "I believe it is best we continue this discussion aboard your space station, Admiral."

"Fine." Anderson cut off the transmission and gave the signal for the fleet to stand down as the Fleetmaster did the same.

Aboard the Destiny, Raya spoke to his ships, "For now, hold your fire. If anything goes awry, obliterate their ships and burn the station 'til it is nothing but ashes and glass."

00000

The Fleetmaster was wearing his combat armor while being flanked by two fully-armed Sangheili bodyguards. They came through the airlock and proceeded to the "Council room."

The group approached a reception desk with a human woman who looked like she was in her mid-thirties. When the Sangheili stopped in front of her, she spoke calmly, "Hello and welcome to the Citadel, seeing as how we value everybody's safety, I'm going to have to ask you to relinquish all of your weapons which will be returned to you on your way out."

The Fleetmaster's gaze turned into a glare and his mandibles set into a scowl, _'I'm not here for five minutes and these humans already think they control me.'_

"And I'm afraid that that will not be necessary."

"I'm sorry sir, but weapons are prohibited inside the Council room." She replied with the same level tone, but Raya could tell that the woman was annoyed, and as was he.

"I will not give you my weapon." The Fleetmaster growled.

"You're lucky that you can even bring weapons into the Citadel."

That did it, the Fleetmaster whipped out his plasma rifle, as did his bodyguards. The human sprang back and pulled out her pistol, "Stow your firearm sir, I am trained to use this weapon!"

Raya cocked his head to one side in amusement, "If that is so, human, then you should know that your safety is on." He dropped his rifle down onto the reception desk, chuckling as he watched the human's face turn bright red with embarrassment. The Fleetmaster turned to his elites and spoke to then in their native tongue, "(Leave your rifles, and keep your swords)."

They nodded in acknowledgement and did as they were told. Raya turned to face the doorway and took in a deep breath, _'I hate politics.'_

The elites walked inside.

00000

Tali slowly opened her eyes. With her vision blurred, she could only make out bits and pieces of her surroundings. Then it all came rushing back to her in a painful wave of memory, bringing down Wasea, the biotic attack, and then a glimpse of 77's silver mirrored visor staring down at her.

Tali rolled her head to the side and saw other cots similar to the one she was lying on. Then she realized, she was in the Normandy's med bay. _'How did I get here?'_

"I'm glad to see you're up." A familiar voice said.

When Tali's vision cleared, Dr. Chakwas was standing next to her cot, "How are you feeling?"

The Quarian groaned as she pushed herself into a sitting position, "I'm okay, what happened?"

"You were… unconscious. 77 brought you here as fast as he could, and I've never seen anybody run so fast in my entire life."

"Oh," Tali shook her head at herself. She felt a surge of embarrassment; she needed saving once again, the weak Quarian who can't even carry her own weight.

"If you're feeling better," Dr. Chakwas interrupted her thoughts, "77 requested to see you at your earliest convenience, he was quite worried about you. He's in the armory."

"Thanks," Tali rose from her cot and exited the medical bay, _'77, worried? About me?'_ The Quarian found that quite strange, 77 just wasn't the worrying type.

When she entered the Normandy's armory, she spotted 77 at one of the worktables fiddling with one of his weapons, his head snapped up instantly when he heard her approach. The Spartan scanned her with his helmet cam and was satisfied that her vitals were back to normal.

"You're up, that's good." He started.

"Um, yeah. I have you to thank for that." Tali took a seat across from his table.

"Your gratitude is unnecessary, your survival is one of my primary objectives."

There was an uneasy silence, and then Tali spoke up again, trying to restart conversation. "What're you working on?"

Without looking up at her, the Spartan said, "M-98 Widow Anti-Material Rifle, with 5x or 10x zoom and apparently the ability to decommission the user's arm if fired. I am currently attempting to increase ammunition capacity… unsuccessfully." Suddenly the rifle sparked and fizzed; smoke wafting from its barrel.

"Here, let me try." The Spartan froze when Tali reached over and slid the rifle over to her side of the table. She selected a different tool from the wall and set to work, within minutes, she handed the Widow back to 77.

The Spartan took some time to inspect the rifle, and finally giving a satisfied nod, he spoke. "Your skill with weapon repair exceeds expectations."

"I'm a Quarian, fixing things come natural to me."

"Your assistance is appreciated." 77 said, replacing the weapon onto the magnetic plates on his back. He was about to get up and leave before a crewmember approached them.

"Excuse me, sir, and ma'am. Commander Shepard wants to see you in the debriefing room."

The two shared a quick glance before the Spartan rose from the table and left, Tali following. When they entered the room, the commander was already waiting for them with his mouth stretched into a tight line with agitation.

His facial features relaxed when the two entered, "Hello, Tali, 77. I'm sorry for calling on you on such short notice, but as you know, the rest of the team is busy with finding the assassin, you are the only two people I have available for this mission."

"And what exactly is the mission, sir?" 77 asked.

"EDI's intercepted a distress beacon on a nearby planet's surface, I want you two to investigate."

"You're not coming with us?"

"I wish, Tali." The Commander sighed, "But apparently, there's something big going on at the Citadel that I've got to check out. The assignment is simple, take the shuttle, deactivate the beacon, and be careful." The last statement seemed to be directed at the Quarian.

The two took the elevator down into the Normandy's shuttle bay. When they arrived and boarded the small ship, 77 typed the coordinates into a terminal and within seconds, they were flying out of the hangar and into the cold abyss of stars. While the Spartan checked his weapons, Tali was deep in thought.

Then she suddenly spoke, "What do you think is going on at the Citadel that's so urgent?"

"I don't know, but if Shepard needs to be involved, then it must be important."

"Any ideas on what it might be?"

"None."

Tali sighed, gazing out the shuttle's windows. Staring into space, literally. There were no more attempts at starting conversation. The two did their own activities to occupy their time, 77 checked his armor while Tali typed something into her glowing omni-tool.

Suddenly, an alarm sounded and a red light blinked on the shuttle's control panel.

"What's that?" 77 asked.

Then the entire ship started to shake and tremble.

The two rushed towards the cockpit. Tali rapidly typed at the keyboard while 77 took a seat and initiated manual override.

"What just happened?"

"Damage reported in the left thruster and inbound hostiles!" Tali replied.

The shuttle shook once more with increased intensity. 77 took a peek out a window and saw a speeding rocket slam into the hull of their shuttle.

"Thruster two is unresponsive!"

The Quarian's fingers flew over the command console, trying to slow their descent in any way. She cursed as the cockpit went dark, and the light from the holo-panels died.

"Dammit! The power generator is down." Tali growled, "I have to find a way to get it back online!"

The Spartan rose from his seat and reached for the door.

"Where are you going?"

"You're plan will never work, the ship's fuel will ignite before we can land and we're coming in way too hot. I have an idea." 77 opened the shuttle hatch and all of the oxygen inside rushed out into space. "We're going to jump."

"WHAT?" Tali cried out just before the Spartan yanked her by her arm towards the open hatch.

"We'll go on three… one."

Her voice suddenly shot up an octave, "We're jumping from _orbit_?"

"…two."

"This is a very bad idea!" She felt 77's arms lock around her torso.

"…three!"

The two fell forward into the dark abyss. Tali could feel the gravity of the planet tugging at them, pulling them down. Things became very hot very fast as the two fell faster. 77 positioned himself so that his back was taking most of the heat.

Above them, another rocket collided with the shuttle, tearing through the armor and making it detonate into a miniature supernova. Both 77's and Tali's shields flared as pieces of burning wreckage pelted them. The Quarian gritted her teeth as they broke through the planet's atmosphere. From the corner of her eyes, she could see the tops of trees just before she squeezed them shut.

77 estimated their altitude, speed, and calculated the time it would take to hit the ground. He had to overload his shields at the precise moment, perfect timing was crucial. If he was off by even one millisecond, they would have to be scraped off the ground with shovels.

In his head, he counted to himself, _'ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.'_ The Spartan's kinetic barriers and personal shielding shone with visible brightness, turning into a protective barrier of light.

Then came the impact. 77's backside exploded in pain and his head hit the back of his helmet and he felt like his brain was jarred against the back of his skull. In his arms, Tali was breathing heavily, and clinging to his chest. He couldn't see anything, when they hit the ground, they created a crater about a few meters in radius and dust was floating all around them.

Stiffly, the Quarian crawled from 77's grasp and attempted to stand up. But before she could rise to her full height, a wave of nausea hit and she stumbled to her knees again.

Taking his time, 77 sat up and checked his armor, his personal shields were offline, but his kinetic barriers and secondary functions looked okay. By this time, the dust had settled. The two had landed in a forest of strange-looking trees and plants, several miles away from their predestined landing zone.

"That," Tali said, "was the worst idea I never agreed to!"

"Still achieved the desired result though," 77 grunted.

"Any other great ideas?" Tali snapped.

"Yes," The Spartan climbed to his feet, "The missiles were sent from land, not far from where we were hit. They would've sent patrol squads by now. We should find higher ground, get our bearings and hold our position, preferably somewhere defendable."

"We don't think so." A new voice said.

The two whirled around to face a group of soldiers armed with various weapons. The leader stepped forward with a wide smirk on his face, he wore a blue armored uniform and held a modified pistol at his side, "That was quite a landing… Too bad you didn't survive."

He waved a signal to the others, but before they could take aim, 77 was already in action. He pulled his knife from its sheath and jammed the blade into the man's neck. Taking his pistol, he fired off five rounds and five pirates dropped to the ground.

He took a discarded shotgun and tossed it to Tali who caught it. 77 kept the pistol and took a few spare thermal clips.

"If they found us that fast, then their base must be close." Tali speculated.

The Spartan nodded, "Good point, let's move."

00000

_I apologize for the extremely long update, but I've been very busy for the last few weeks and hadn't had time to do anything. Hope you enjoyed this chapter._


	13. Chapter 13

00000

The massive space station came into view as the Mass Relay disappeared behind the Normandy.

Joker frowned as unknown ship signatures came up on radar. His frown deepened, "Sir, I'm picking up a lot more radio chatter than normal, most of them coming from the unidentified ships."

"Is the Citadel under attack?" Shepard asked.

"No, but something's definitely going on." Joker replied.

"That's what we're here to find out."

EDI then spoke in her robotic monotone, "Docking procedures initiated."

As the Normandy approached the station, the crew got a good look at the ships. "Damn," the helmsman murmured, "Just imagine trying to take one of them down…"

The ship gave a slight rumble as the tube extended from the station and latched onto the Normandy. Shepard stepped through the airlock connecting the Normandy and the docking port. He felt the breeze of the Citadel's air filters on his face. The automated doors slid open, revealing two C-SEC officers, one Turian and one female human, waiting for him on the other side. They acknowledged the Commander as he approached.

"Sir, we are under orders to escort you directly to the Council Room." The Turian spoke.

Shepard nodded and followed them through the winding roads and streets. The Commander couldn't help but notice that they were the only ones on the street. The place was devoid of the usual chatter. Advertisements were left playing with nobody around to hear them. It was like a ghost town.

Finally, Shepard couldn't take the eerie silence anymore, "Where is everybody?"

The Turian spoke first, "A new species came through the Mass Relay today, and they were sporting some pretty big guns. As you know, the Geth attack crippled our Navy. And we know next to nothing about the capabilities of their ships, they could demolish our entire Navy in minutes for all we know."

"We're basically living under loaded gun, the civvies were ordered to stand by for evacuation should anything go wrong." The human added.

"Have the Alliance made contact yet?"

"Yeah, they sent down a representative"

"Any luck?"

"Ha!" The Turian barked, "We could hear them screaming at each other from the other side of the soundproof doors!"

"I just hope the Council doesn't piss them off too much." The human added.

The Commander made no comment as he continued to follow. He knew what the Council was like. They were doomed.

00000

The Spartan and Tali sat under a tree overlooking a large riverbank. The two have been traveling for hours unceasingly. When 77 made sure they'd put enough distance between them and the pirates' base, they stopped and made camp. The planet's sun had already begun to descend past the horizon and the howls of nocturnal animals rose up as nightfall descended.

"I'll take first watch." 77 murmured.

Tali was about to protest until she realized how tired she was. All of her limbs were sore and her head felt like it was going to burst at any given moment. She only nodded in reply as she curled up next to 77 and fell asleep almost immediately.

77 made himself comfortable and removed his helmet, resting it on the ground next to him. Tonight was going to be a long night. _'And tomorrow will be an even longer day.'_ He thought to himself.

00000

"What do you mean when you say 'they're gone'?" Joker asked the ship's AI.

"I've lost their transponder signals Jeff, they're gone." EDI replied.

"Well do you at least have their last known location?"

"Yes."

The helmsman sighed and leaned back, rubbing his eyes, "Oi, Shepard's not going to like this. Message him and tell him what happened."

Moments later, a fuming Commander stood at the bridge, "EDI, where did they go dark?"

Her hologram appeared on a panel next to him, "On the surface of the designated planet, 465 kilometers west of their designated landing point. And there's one more thing…"

Shepard looked at her, "Spit it out EDI."

"About five miles from the planet's surface, the shuttle reported critical damage. Four miles from the planet's surface, I detected Tali's and 77's transponders leaving the shuttle during atmospheric entry."

The Commander was dumbfounded, "Wait, hold on. They jumped? They actually _jumped_?"

"Slow down there EDI, are you sure you got the right readings?" Joker asked.

"I am positive, Mr. Moreau."

Shepard mumbled under his breath, "Crazy bastard…"

"Orders sir?"

"I'm calling an abort on the mission." He dictated, "We're pulling them out. Joker, plot in the coordinates."

"Aye, Commander." The helmsman confirmed.

00000

From the loud creaking of the branches, 77 knew the tree couldn't hold their weight for long. Down below, a pack of wolf-like creatures Tali dubbed as Varren circled them, snarling hungrily, some were bold enough to try to climb the tree after them, they were now lying at the base of the tree, dead.

But still, more Varren came, eager for breakfast. The two fired their weapons, downing several of the beasts, but not enough to keep them at bay. As 77 pulled the trigger once more, the weapon clicked empty.

"Shit, I'm out." He growled.

"I'm on my last clip." Tali reported.

The Spartan looked downward, he could tell that these animals weren't going away. Tali fired away relentlessly, bringing down two more Varren before her weapon too overheated. She glanced at 77, "What do we do now?"

"Do you still have your combat drone?"

"No," Tali replied, "My Omni-tool's out of power."

Suddenly, the tree creaked and moaned again, and the branch Tali was standing on gave way. 77 lunged at her, catching her hand as she was about to fall.

The sight of food getting closer to them drove the Varren into a frenzy. They snapped at the Quarian, narrowly missing her. One of them, leapt up, slamming into Tali and sent her toppling to the ground. Yelping with excitement, Varren were on her in seconds. All she saw were the teeth, razor sharp lining the inside of their mouths.

The Spartan whipped out his knife and joined the fray. He fell, and landed on one of the animals, crushing its head under his heavy boots. He kicked away one of the attacking Varren and grabbed another by the neck and hurled it into the river before they could bite down. Tali had also armed herself with her knife and slashed away at the beasts.

One massive Varren coiled its muscles and charged at 77, when he saw it coming, it was too late. They collided and fell to the ground, 77's knife went flying out of his grip. All of the Spartan's shields were drained from the force of the impact. Sparks danced across his armor as the Varren's claws made jagged slash marks across 77's breast plate.

They rolled across the ground, kicking and clawing at each other, trying to get an upper hand. Then, 77 got a firm grip on the beast's throat and squeezed, closing its windpipe, it tried to worm its way out of the Spartan's hold, but it was no use. The Varren whimpered pathetically as it slumped, unconscious.

Shoving the comatose animal off of him, he jumped to his feet and moved on to his next target, but there were none, the rest of the animals had fled. He saw Tali finishing her last kill.

The dark grey Varren flailed its limbs wildly, but something was wrong with them. "I cut its leg muscles." Tali explained as 77 approached her. She then sent her blade into the creature's neck, blood sprayed as an artery was severed. Tali stood and looked out over the once green plain, now dyed red with blood and littered with corpses.

"Well at least we won't go hungry." 77 said nonchalantly.

Tali barked out a short laugh, "And then what?"

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see…"

00000

_Damn that was terrible. Well, I hoped you enjoyed it anyway. Terribly sorry about the month-long updates._


	14. Chapter 14

00000

It was dawn again when the clouds came and wept their tears. By then, the Quarian and the Spartan had already taken cover within a damp moss-covered cave at the foot of the mountains near the site of the Varren attack.

The two sat in silence as the soft pitter-patter of rain continued outside. 77 tossed another block of wood he had gathered earlier into the fire in front of them with Varren meat sizzling on a spit above it. Tali's eyelids drooped as she stared into the flames, feeling its comfortable warmth lull her to sleep.

77 was the first to break the silence, "The meat's ready."

Tali stared at him, "I can't eat that."

The Spartan raised an eyebrow, "Are you a vegetarian?"

"No."

"Then what's the matter?"

Tali paused, she was going to tell him about the Quarian immune system, but thought the better of it. Now was not the time for a biology lesson. "I have my own food," she muttered.

The Spartan remained suspicious, but did not pursue the subject, "Suit yourself." After a moment's hesitation, he unsheathed his knife and sliced off piece by piece of meat and stuck them into his mouth without waiting for them to cool, they were still sizzling. He chewed silently as he watched Tali from his peripheral vision.

She pulled out a small object from her suit that bore resemblance to a tube of toothpaste and attached it to a hidden port on her helmet. Slowly, she began to empty the tube's contents. 77 continued to watch with interest as she finished it and tucked it away back into the folds of her suit.

"So, why don't you ever take off your mask?" The Spartan asked inquisitively.

'Perhaps it is the time for a biology lesson…' Tali thought to herself. "Quarians have a relatively weak immune system because of our homeworld Rannoch had relatively low amounts of pathogenic microbes. That's why we wear our envirosuits at all times. A suit breach would result in a mild infection if a person's lucky."

"I see," 77 murmured. Suddenly a sound roused him from his thoughts. 77 tensed and gripped his knife. Tali noted this and also grasped her blade's handle. The sound came again, a quiet clacking of falling rocks. Whoever, or whatever it was, was trying to gain access to their cave. The Spartan sunk into a defensive crouch, ready for anything that would jump out at him.

He inched forward and peeked over the lip of the cave and saw a crumpled, humanoid form lying at the foot of the cave. He saw no obvious weapons, so he half dragged/half carried the still-motionless form into their hideout. The light from the fire gave him a better look at the person in his arms. She was a Quarian, shorter than Tali and seemed to be in her mid-twenties. Her electric blue suit was worn, but still looked to be in one piece, but her cerulean visor was cracked in several places, close to giving out.

"Oh Keelah," Tali cried out as she rushed to their side. As 77 placed the comatose Quarian beside the fire, Tali scanned her for vitals. When she was done, Tali breathed a sigh of relief, "She's stable, but this Quarian suffered from dehydration, and malnutrition. With some food, she'll be fine."

The Quarian stirred weakly at the sound of Tali's voice. Then her eyes snapped open and cried out, jerking her arms in front of her faceplate, as if to protect herself from something. Tali reached out and grasped her shoulder gently, "Calm down, you're safe now."

At her words, she slowly lowered her arms and stared at them with relief and what could only be described as fear in her eyes. It was then she spoke in a hushed voice, "I've found you."

00000

Commander Shepard stared at the large green sphere dotted with patches of blue and stripes of grey looming before the Normandy through the cockpit window. He hoped that whatever defense systems that destroyed the shuttles couldn't see through the Normandy's stealth systems. He proceeded to the conference room where his team of choice was waiting.

Thane and Garrus were speaking in hushed tones when he entered, but then snapped to attention. The reason Shepard wanted to bring Thane was partly to test his loyalty to his command. On top of that, two sets of snipers' eyes were better than one on a search-and-rescue mission.

"The plan is simple," Shepard started, "Retrieve Tali and the Spartan. Getting to the start of the mission, however, will prove a bit more difficult. EDI, bring up your scans."

A rough outline of the planet's surface appeared above the table. "From what we can tell from thermal imaging, most of the shuttle's remains landed here." A marker appeared on the projection. "EDI calculates that they could've landed anywhere within this area." A wide circle then appeared around a large area. "We'll start looking from there.

"As to how we're going to get down there. First we send off a volley of empty escape pods to as decoys to draw enemy fire. Then we go in with the Hammerhead. We'll be on the ground long before they can shoot them all down."

"Well, what if they target us rather than the pods?" Garrus asked.

"We'll just have to hope that they don't." Shepard replied.

The Assassin, Shepard noted, was silently observing the holographic scan of the surface, not making any comment.

"Is there anything you would like to add, Krios?" The commander asked impatiently.

Without looking away he answered, "There are mountains to the east. They would find good cover there."

Shepard glanced at Garrus who shrugged, "Sounds like a good place to start."

The commander nodded, "You all know your objectives. EDI, is the Hammerhead ready?"

The AI's voice came through the Briefing room speakers, "Yes, it is waiting for you in the hangar, though I would strongly advise against launching the escape pods."

"I won't be second guessed by subordinates on my ship." Shepard said harshly, "Prepare the pods for launch and await my signal."

After a moment's pause, EDI replied, "Command confirmed."

The elevator ride down to the Normandy's hangar was filled with an uneasy silence. 'They were scared' Shepard realized, 'As well as they should be.' This was the first time he had attempted this, he couldn't help but feel a sliver of nervousness himself. The elevator halted, and the team stepped out into the hangar. They were greeted by Engineer Kenneth Donnelly who gave a crisp salute, "Commander, sir. The Hammerhead is prepped and ready for launch. However, there is one thing you should know.

"Last time you operated the Hammerhead, we heard you had some problems with the controls. We modified it so that you'd drive into walls a lot less," He gave a short bark of laughter, "Come on, and let me show you."

As they clambered into the large tank, Shepard noticed that the large panels of buttons and switches had been replaced by what looked like a small controller with two joysticks and several buttons. "You see, the left stick controls where you move and your speed. The right stick is to control what direction you face and where you're aiming the main cannon. And to shoot, just pull the trigger."

"Wait which trigger?" There were two triggers on either side of the controller. He didn't want to accidentally pull the wrong trigger and send them flying into a lava pit.

"Right trigger, sir."

"Okay, then what do the other buttons do?"

"Uh," Ken scratched his head, "I'm not really sure sir…"

Garrus stared at him quizzically, "What do you mean? You of all people should know how this works, you built it."

"Ah, no Garrus, Chief Engineer Tali'Zorah built it. I just handed her the flamethr- I mean the blowtorch when she needed it."

Shepard was at a loss for words, he also stared, dumbfounded.

Ken noticed the Commander's distress and grinned uneasily, "Don't worry Shepard, it's a bit like playing a video game, you'll get the hang of it. Good luck!" The Engineer climbed out the Hammerhead's port and slammed the door shut.

"Wait, which button opens the door?" Shepard called after him. But it was too late, he tentatively gripped the controls. "EDI, open the hangar doors and prepare the pods for launch." Shepard wondered if Ken was still trying to get back at him for winning five hundred credits off of him in a game of Skyllian 5.

"Here we go," Shepard murmured as he pressed forward the left thumbstick.

00000

_Damn, it's been a while. I f***ing hate writer's block. Terribly sorry if this chapter didn't meet expectations. So I decided to add in some humor to try to make up for it._

_I am hoping the next chapter will come quicker._


	15. Chapter 15

_Alright, here we go…_

00000

_There was liquid fire racing through his veins, hot, as if he were injected with molten lava. He gritted his teeth to keep from screaming. Screaming meant weakness, Spartans cannot show weakness. Instead, a muffled groan escaped his locked teeth. The restraints held firm, but the waves of pain were unbearable. He began to squirm, his hands clenching his fists as beads of sweat accumulated on his forehead and dripped onto the table._

_He barely registered the slim figure on the table to his left, twitching spastically and letting out shrill screams dripping with pure torment._

_Finally, the agony became too much, he roared as he thrashed on the table. The fire was burning hotter and hotter. Tears started to blur his eyesight. Suddenly, a restraint broke and his right arm burst free, lashing out violently. Then, another restraint followed suit and released his other arm._

_His higher thinking evaporated as the burning climbed to a new level of excruciation. The only thought that held long enough in his head without being washed away by the pain was to escape the burning. His body jerked and writhed as he forced himself off the table. But it was as if his body no longer responded to his commands._

_To his immense relief, the pain slowly, but gradually subsided. It was then he heard the loud, continuous beeping of one of the monitors, sharp and clear. He tried to rise, only succeeded in making his shoulder twitch. With a great amount of willpower, he planted his hands onto the ground and pushed himself upward, his arms trembling from the effort. It was then he noticed his own vitals monitor was still beeping normally, which could only mean…_

_A frosty chill shot up his spine and eyes widened in horror as he made the connection. The figure lying on the table beside him had grown silent.  
"No, no, no…" he whispered to himself._

_The words the Chief told him rattled around in his head, "Don't make any friends, because they'll just disappoint you by dying."_

_His arms gave out and he collapsed onto the cold, hard metal floor of the room. With the last ounces of strength, he gripped the table and dragged himself up. His eyes met a pair of dull, glassy ones. "No, no, no, no…" How could've this happened? "76." He whispered. The pain had subsided into a dull throbbing, but a new aching flared deep within his chest._

_He rested a hand on her cheek and remembered all those times when the two spoke eagerly about receiving their augmentations and graduating from the Spartan IV program. Her eyes sparkled with life and brilliance then, but now that was gone, replaced with that blank stare, retaining none of its original vibrancy, the way it will remain forever more._

_With two shaky fingers, 77 reached out and closed her eyelids and said his goodbyes. The silence of the room was broken by the sound of choked sobs._

_He barely registered the hand resting on his trembling shoulder. Only when he ceased sobbing did a familiar voice speak to him, "Spartan, wake up Spartan…"_

_77 looked up to see a pair of bright silver orbs staring down at him from behind a visor of violet glass._

The Spartan jerked awake to the sound of someone calling his name, no, screaming his name. He opened his eyes and saw Tali's visor inches from his own. But something burned in her eyes, despair? No, it was _fear. Disoriented and only half-awake, 77 groaned and clutched his head as a steady pounding wracked _his skull. In an instant, everything came flooding back to him, the mission to investigate the distress signal, the pirates, the Varren, their new guest, and now Tali's eyes hovering above him.

He bolted upright and reached for his knife, his combat instincts kicking him awake. He scanned the cave for enemies, when he found none; he noticed the claw marks on the cave floor where there were none the night before. 'Did I do that?'

"Spartan, are you okay?" Tali regarded him as if he were a rabid Varren.

"Yes," he said hesitantly. "Yes, I'm fine." He repeated, this time sounding more firm.

His gaze then traveled to the Quarian lying still beside the smoldering ashes of the fire. "Has she said anything else yet?"

"No. She still hasn't woken up yet."

The Spartan nodded in acknowledgment. "Keep an eye on her. I'm heading out to find food," he said as he stared out into the diluted light of the morning sun.

00000

Shepard gripped the controls hard as they made their violent descent. He saw the first volley of rockets slam into one of the escape pods nearby, igniting its fuel source and making it erupt into a miniature supernova. The Hammerhead's hull shook violently as it tumbled through the atmosphere, threatening to come apart at the seams.

The Commander struggled to steady their deadly downward plunge to no avail. 'A few more seconds… _just a few more seconds.' With each passing moment, the number of pods dwindled as the ground grew _closer. Shepard furiously manipulated the controller in an attempt to level out and slow their rapid descent. Miraculously, their freefall did lessen into a controlled plummet, but it was far from enough to make it a soft landing.

"Everybody brace for impact!" The Commander shouted.

The Turian and the Drell clung to the passenger supports for dear life as the ground rushed up to meet them. The entire crew was jerked out of their seats as the Hammerhead violently collided with the earth, leaving behind a great trail of smoldering dirt and rubble.

Shepard grabbed onto his pilot's seat and tried to pull himself up. But as he straightened himself up a wave of nausea hit and forced him back onto his knees. The Commander noted with dismay that his helmet visor had cracked when they hit. Tugging off his damaged headgear, he surveyed the rest of the Hammerhead's cabin. Thane and Garrus were both passed out on the floor, both were alive.

Shepard climbed back into his seat. He breathed a sigh of relief as the holographic display lit up and his controller flashed green as a sign of its activation. Running through a scan of the Hammerhead's functionality, Shepard smiled with satisfaction. The tank's engine and propulsion system were intact. The outer infrastructure took moderate damage from the crash, but it would hold until repairs were absolutely necessary.

Shepard turned around at the sound of his two squad mates stirring. Garrus was rubbing his head as he shook himself awake while Thane was silently checking himself for injuries.

"Judging from the jackhammer going off in my head, I'm guessing we're still alive?" Garrus asked.

"Yeah Garrus, we're all still in one piece." The Commander replied, "Thane?"

"Only minor bruising, but otherwise intact."

"Good." Shepard grasped the controls once more, "Now here comes the hard part." He grabbed his rifle and smashed it against the tank's hatch until it came loose enough for him to pry open.

"Garrus, Thane, you're our eyes and ears on this one. Nobody sets foot back on the ship until we find those two."

00000

77 stalked through the dense forest, his eyes glued to his motion tracker. His senses remained sharp, but his mind was elsewhere. He couldn't help but have those two silver orbs flash through his head every once in a while. 'Why?'

They didn't belong in his waking nightmares. They didn't belong with the faces of the dead he visited almost every night. In fact, they didn't belong in his thoughts at all.

So why?

A faint rustling of leaves in the bush ahead of him snapped the Spartan from his thoughts. He sank into a predatory crouch and drew his trusty knife as he slunk towards the noise. Approaching swiftly and relentlessly, he readied his blade as he neared the source of the disturbance.

77 jumped back as a flurry of animals exploded from behind the bushes and flew off into the sky. The Spartan loosened his posture as he let out the breath had been holding.

He took another deep breath, and only then did he note the hint of rotting flesh in the air through his helmet's filters. 'A dead animal? Most likely.' He pressed on, the heavy scent of decay growing thicker with every step. He paused when his gaze rested on the small patch of dried blood resting at his feet and trailing away deep into the forest. 77 knelt down and took a whiff of the dark red stain. There was no mistaking it, this blood had belonged to a human, B positive, and it was only about a few hours old.

As 77 followed the trail of blood, he came to a point where the smell of rot overpowered his filters and made him choke. Before him was a mound of decomposing flesh. Atrophied human limbs, shredded pirate uniforms and civilian clothes were the only thing identifiable in the mess. The limbs struck out at awkward angles from the bodies that looked almost as if they had been melted and then stuck together in a goopy mass.

The Spartan slowly backed away. He'd seen a lot in his years of active duty, but he'd never seen anything like this. He figured he was about three miles out from the camp, whatever animal that did this was probably still close.

Suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck rose as he felt several pairs of eyes watching him. 77 spun around searching for the source of the anomaly. His heart pounded against his ribcage, something felt off, very, very off.

'_You should go warn Tali.'_

'_Yes,' he thought, 'I have to tell Tali about this.' He began to run, and only when he put some distance _between him and the aberration did he realize that the voice in his thoughts was not his own.

As 77 came to the cave entrance, Tali jumped as she reached for her own blade, standing over the frightened Quarian defensively. As soon as she saw that it was him, she fell into a more relaxed stance.

"77, what's going on?"

The Spartan frowned under his helmet, "I don't know." He then told Tali of the mound of eviscerated human bodies, but he kept the voice to himself. The Spartan didn't want her and the Quarian to think he was crazier than they already thought he was.

"And also, the pirate uniforms I found at the Mound were different than the ones on the group we met at our landing." 77 spoke, immersed in thought.

"Wait, did you say there were human bodies?" Tali inquired.

"Yes."

"It could be the work of the Collectors, the ones who've been abducting entire human colonies."

"It makes sense, the classic bait-and-trap trick situated in a largely human-populated system."

"If we're dealing with the Collectors here, then we have to get into contact with Shepard." Tali frowned, "But we have no means of communication."

"There were monsters…"

The two both turned their attention to the Quarian. "There was fire, with falling, lots of falling, yes…" She turned to face them with tears shining in her eyes, "I was the only one when they came for me… I was alone when the monsters came for me…"

"… and there was that voice."

77 suddenly stiffened. So was he not going crazy after all? Was it an effect this planet gives? If so, then how can he and Tali escape it? Does Tali hear the Voice as well? So many questions ran through his head.

"Go on." Tali gently nudged the Quarian's trembling shoulder. "What happened next?"

"Then… then…" She suddenly froze, her eyes wide and unblinking.

"They will come." The Quarian said in an eerily calm voice. Then she began convulsing spastically, screaming something in a language 77 could not understand. The Spartan tried to pin her to the ground, but she was much stronger than she looked. The Quarian shoved 77 away and immediately went for Tali's knife.

She was quick, but Tali was quicker as she kicked the knife from her reach and prepared to wrestle the Quarian. Not expecting her strength, Tali was knocked to the ground as the Quarian screamed and clawed at her from above. 77 grabbed her by the head and ripped her away from Tali. He had to end this now; the threat had to be neutralized.

The Spartan lifted the Quarian into the air and slammed her faceplate into the rock wall.

"No!" Tali cried as there was the sound of shattering glass.

But still the Quarian fought. She managed to squirm out of the Spartans grip and face the two once more. Tali gasped as she saw the person behind the visor. The Quarian's eyes were glowing metallic blue, pulsing wiring and cybernetics were visible, and an insane smile was plastered across the width of her face. A Quarian-turned monster. 'The work of the same group that left the mess outside,' the Spartan deduced.

77 prepared once more as the Quarian charged at him. In one swift movement, the Spartan grabbed her and used her momentum to propel her into the side of the cave. He didn't expect it when she landed with her feet planted firmly against the wall and leapt at him again. Her body slamming against his with the force of a car sent the Spartan toppling down onto the cave floor.

The Quarian's hands then found 77's neck and squeezed. The Spartan saw stars bloom in his vision as he tried to pry her hands from his neck. Tali, in an attempt to put an end to the melee, wrenched the Quarian's head back and jammed her knife down her trachea, eliciting a ear-piercing screech soon dying into a labored gurgle as genetically engineered blood gushed from the wound. 77 took this chance and sent his fist flying into the Quarian's exposed face. There was a loud crack as his blow connected, snapping her neck sideways with enough force to shatter her spinal column.

The Quarian went limp and collapsed against 77's body. With a disgusted grunt, the Spartan shoved the corpse away from him and wiped the blood off of his visor. Tali took a moment for everything to sink in. 'That had been a Quarian once.' She thought somberly, 'Repurposed by the Reapers and made into soldiers and slaves.'

The Spartan stood, "We have to move, the enemy is now likely to know our position." And not a moment too soon he spotted three red dots on his motion tracker converging on their location. "We have to move now." Tali scrambled to her feet and together, they burst from the cave running full tilt deep into the forest, away from the terrible cacophony of battle-shrieks crying out for blood.

As the small group proceeded through the foliage, Thane suddenly stopped and cocked his head, "Commander, I think I heard something."

"I think I heard it too." Garrus said, "And it didn't sound too friendly."

"Alright everyone stay sharp, Thane?"

"It came from that direction," the Drell assassin pointed.

The Commander swore, "There's not enough space for the tank to maneuver." Using the butt of his rifle, he smashed the tank hatch open and climbed out. "Garrus, you've got guard duty. I need you to stay behind and protect the tank, Thane, you're with me. Lead the way."

The Drell nodded and took point as Garrus scanned the trees for movement. The duo slowly made their way deep into the treeline. And not a moment too soon, the Turian spotted two extra silhouettes from the scope of his rifle. "Commander, two unknowns inbound on your 'ten."

Both Shepard and the Assassin spun to face the oncoming enemy barreling down upon them, their trigger fingers already easing back the firing mechanisms.

The sprinting Spartan barely had enough time to register the two new dots that had appeared on his motion tracker directly ahead of them. _'I have no time for a course correction, I have to break through here.' _77 leapt and grabbed hold of a low-hanging branch, launching himself into the air and down onto his enemy.

The figure ahead was quick to respond with a hail of bullets as soon as the Spartan went airborne. But the rounds bounced off his shielding harmlessly as he bore down on the enemy. To his surprise, the slim figure was incredibly agile, rolling out of the way before 77 could successfully pin him to the ground. The moment the figure recovered, a fresh barrage of assault rifle rounds peppered the Spartan's shields once more. 77 made a grab for the enemy's weapon, but instead of grappling like he expected, the figure discarded his rifle and sent a kick to the Spartan's head. 77 barely had enough time to duck, and was soon was met with a string of lightning fast blows, forcing him back into a defensive stance. Whoever he was fighting was precise and coordinated, completely different from the Quarian husks he had been previously fighting who were wild and sporadic.

He dared to glance down at his motion tracker and his eyes widened in further surprise, the three previous hostiles in pursuit were on the radar once more and were rapidly closing in, and not only that, but he had been engaging with friendly units. In the time it took him to register all of this, Thane lunged and landed several successive strikes on the Spartan's solar plexus.

Tali drew her knife and was about to engage the Drell as well, until a loud, but familiar voice broke through the chaos.

"Spartan! Thane! Stand down, both of you!" Shepard bellowed.

Everything stood still. Both the Assassin and the Spartan froze in their tracks and Tali nearly dropped the knife she was wielding. Time itself seemed to freeze as 77 and Thane both focused their unblinking gaze on each other.

Garrus was the first to break the silence, "Sorry to interrupt your nice little reunion, Shepard. But you've got three, no, five more hostiles heading your way fast."

Right as the first Quarian husk broke through the foliage, it was suddenly flung back with a hole the size of a soda can punched through the center of its visor. "Make that four."

The entire team jumped into action as the remaining Quarians threw themselves at them. Shepard gunned one of them down by emptying an entire thermal clip's worth of rounds into the belly of one of them at point blank range. But as soon as he was done firing, the Quarian crawled to its feet once more and charged. Shepard only had time to blink in surprise before he found himself on his back holding off an angry Quarian husk erratically clawing at him, leaving deep gouges in his armor. A large spray of synthetic fluids suddenly spewed from the side of the Quarian's head and Shepard could feel its form go limp. The Commander gave Garrus a glance of appreciation who was smirking behind the scope of a rifle with a smoking barrel.

Tali held her knife steady as she faced off with another Quarian husk, this one looked no older than sixteen. 'So young…'Tali thought as the husk stumbled towards her. Her heart pounded, her hand felt a slight tremor run through its clenched tendons. The husk was so close that Tali could see the milky, empty eyes behind its cloudy visor. She tried to make her body move, but her feet were rooted firmly into the ground, her arms felt as if they were made of stone.

Tali squeezed her eyes shut. "It's just a husk, not a Quarian, just a husk, just a husk, just a husk…" She muttered under her breath over and over again. Yet that did not slow down its approach nor did it work to unfreeze Tali's limbs. She snapped open her eyes again when she heard two successive 'cracks,' the Spartan stood before her, the husk of the young Quarian in his hands with its neck twisted at a horrible angle and a broken bone jutting from the center of its forearm, nearly breaking through its suit.

Tali did all she could from throwing up what little remained of last night's dinner. The Spartan spared a brief glance down to the lifeless corpse in his hands before he tossed it away and settled his gaze on Tali. He saw it clearly written in her eyes: terror, disbelief, but most of all, _fear._ Exactly how a marine would look at a Spartan IV back in the UNSC.

Tali fell to her knees and her knife clattered to the ground next to her. Even as she closed her eyes, she could see the blank stare of the dead Quarian husk, as well as the one with the shattered visor. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes, of all species, why was the one targeted her own?

77 only stared listlessly as sobs shuddered through her form. It wasn't long before his attention was redirected to the Commander.

"What the hell happened here? And how the hell did Reapers get their hands on Quarians?" Shepard asked.

"There is no doubt, there are Collectors stationed planetside, however we have not spotted any so far," 77 replied "The distress signal's shutdown has not yet been confirmed. The Quarians may have been lured here just as we were."

"Alright Spartan, we're pulling out. Cerberus reinforcements should clean up the rest of this mess. Garrus, get Tali up on her feet so we can get out of here."

"What about the defense system?"

"EDI should already have that covered."

00000

_It looks as though I have died from a horrible, horrible accident and have been revived by the magical wonder of reincarnation with little memory of my apparent death. _


End file.
